This was on Yahoo news today. . .

Rare Allergic Reaction to Latex Reported in Baby
Fri Mar 29, 1:16 PM ET
By Charnicia E. Huggins

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Researchers have identified the first case of a type of raspy breathing called stridor in a 2-month-old infant as an allergic reaction to a latex nipple. Previous reports have identified a persistent cough as a latex-associated allergic reaction.


Yet, most parents need not be overly concerned about their child's potential allergy to latex, study author Dr. Robert Freishtat of Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, told Reuters Health.

"Despite the impressive symptoms of the child in our case, symptomatic latex allergy is probably a very rare event in young children, (and) even when it does exist it is usually not so striking," he said. "So, after reading about this child, for a parent to go out of their way to avoid latex in pacifiers or toys is unnecessary for the vast majority of kids."

Freishtat and co-author Dr. Julius Goepp of Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, investigated the case of a 60-day-old full-term infant girl who, after being switched to soy formula feedings following 3 weeks of breast-feeding, began exhibiting "increasing nasal congestion, a facial rash and noisy breathing with feedings."

Suspecting formula sensitivity, the infant's pediatrician switched the baby first to a different type of formula, and then to a different formula brand, but the infant's symptoms persisted, with stridor beginning a few minutes after each feeding, Freishtat and Goepp report in the April issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine.

The baby's symptoms typically peaked towards the middle of each feeding and lasted 10 minutes after the feedings ended.

After being taken to the emergency department due to abnormal breathing, lung congestion and other allergy signs, the infant was tested for latex sensitivity due to her mother's own allergy history, which included a reaction to latex in a dental office.

The mother was then given a latex-free silicon-based nipple to use for the child's next feeding. No abnormal breathing or stridor was observed during that feeding or in subsequent feedings with the latex-free nipple, the report indicates.

In fact, no further respiratory symptoms associated with feeding were observed up to 3 months after the infant was switched to the latex-free nipple, the researchers report.

"For most families, there are no implications," Freishtat said. "However, if there is some concern for a latex allergy, silicone alternatives to traditional latex nipples and pacifiers are widely available and have the added advantage of being more durable than latex."

He advised, "Parents worried about latex allergy or atopy in their children should discuss these concerns with their pediatrician."

SOURCE: Annals of Emergency Medicine 2002;39:441-443.

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