Hospital named 'latex free zone'
echopress.com
By Tara Bitzan
Lifestyle Editor
FRIDAY, 5/15/98
Next time you think about bringing balloons to the hospital to cheer up a sick
friend or welcome a new baby - think again.
The Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria is now a "latex safe zone."
According to Barb Friederichs, hospital employee health services
coordinator, this means that latex balloons, as well as other latex products,
will not be allowed in the hospital.
The ban of some latex products is the result of a growing awareness of latex
allergies, Friederichs noted.
"Certain people, such as health care workers, are at a higher risk of latex
allergies," she said. "Allergies are acquired when a sensitivity to something is
built up. People are not born with allergies - allergies are developed."
The hospital began a latex management plan in an effort to provide a safer
environment for health care workers as well as patients.
"We were motivated to look at this in an effort to learn more about it as well
as provide a safer environment," Friederichs said. "Currently, about 10
percent of hospital employees are sensitive to latex, while 3 percent have
been formally diagnosed with latex allergies."
As part of the latex management plan, the hospital's 13,000-plus item
inventory list is currently being examined.
Right now, about 25 percent of the products have been identified as either
latex or non-latex products.
"With the growing awareness of this problem, there has been a huge demand
on non-latex products," Friederichs said. "We have switched to all non-latex
exam gloves, but there are certain products that there are no alternatives for.
She added that the allergy is not believed to be something new, but
something that has gained recognition since the mid 1980s.
"With the surfacing of AIDS, there was a high demand for rubber gloves,"
she noted. "The dramatic increase in exposure to latex oversensitized
people."
Latex allergies are serious and at times can be life-threatening, Friederichs
explained.
"The difference with this allergy over some others is that it progresses and
continues to worsen with no predictable pattern," she said. "Symptoms
include skin irritation, watery eyes, shortened breath. The allergy can be
contracted by skin, as well as in the lungs by breathing in latex contaminants.
"And once you get it, it never goes away," she added. "You have to learn to
live with it by learning to avoid it and changing your environment."
Friederichs noted that latex can be found in many common household
products, including pencil erasers, the rubber backing on rugs, and the
elastic in undergarments.
"The only way to find out if something contains latex is to call the
manufacturer," she said. "And if you suspect you have a latex allergy, see
your physician."
The hospital's latex management plan also includes offering in-services to
dental and chiropractic clinics, home health organizations and medical
training facilities.
In July, latex monitoring of some medical products will be simplified by new
packaging which identifies the presence of latex. Unfortunately, this labeling
will only be used on some medical products - not household items.
Patients are also now being screened for latex sensitivities, and signs have
been placed at all hospital entrances stating:
The Douglas County Hospital is a latex safe hospital - no latex balloons
allowed.
(NOTE: Mylar balloons do not contain latex and will be allowed into the
hospital.)
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