As a kid, when I would get a cut or a scrape, my mom would quickly put a band-aid on it. But every time, I would get a rash worse than the cut itself from the bandage. For the longest time, we simply thought it was the adhesive but we finally made the connection to latex when I had my braces put on. The exposure to the latex gloves resting on my face resulted in a horrid rash, which was the “ah-hah” moment we needed to diagnose a latex allergy. After that, I never thought much about it unless I needed a band-aid or if I was at a doctor’s appointment.
So What’s the Correlation Between Latex and Eczema?
I have been plagued with eczema most of my life, located only on my fingers and the palms of my hand. However, my eczema got worse than ever before while on the Whole 30 (You can read about my Whole30 here). It had gone from just annoying dry skin to itchy red, blisters that kept me up at night. I couldn’t make sense of this reaction because I had removed every “inflammatory food” I could think of. My mind was blown because it seemed the “healthier” I ate, the worse it got.
So How Did I Make the Connection?
Recently, my dad and my cousin, Matt, who’s a medical doctor, were chatting and my dad brought up my eczema.
Immediately, Matt made the connection, stating that it’s a well known fact in the medical community that people with latex allergies typically have food allergies too. My dad called me right away and we got started researching what my cousin had said. To say the least, he was dead accurate.
The Findings:
Most people are familiar with latex found in gloves, balloons, band-aids etc. Natural rubber latex comes from the sap of the rubber tree and it’s common for people to be allergic to the proteins found in latex. These proteins are active enzymes involved in defending the latex plant from microbial attacks, like fungi. Proteins that serve similar functions are found in a wide variety of plants that include many common foods. Majority of people with latex allergies find that they are cross reactive to certain foods that contain these similar proteins.
Foods with High Cross-Reactivity:
- apple
- avocado
- banana
- carrot
- celery
- chestnut
- kiwi
- melons
- papaya
- raw potato
- tomato
So Why Did I Get Worse On The Whole 30?
Potatoes. LOTS of potatoes. And bananas and avocados.
I was eating these foods in excess, especially potatoes. Literally, breakfast, lunch and dinner consisted of some form of potato. Breakfast almost always had avocado. Lunch was typically a salad with celery and carrot. Snacks were usually fruit, most often watermelon because of summertime or apples and almond butter. NO WONDER my eczema threw a hissy fit.
I’m not giving a blanket statement that if you have eczema, you have a latex allergy or vice versa. BUT for me, this was the case and I’m so grateful I was able to make the connection and finally heal my eczema. For now, I’ll be avoiding these foods, maybe having small amounts here and there. Excuse me while I mourn the loss of my beloved avocados…
Wow that is CRAZY. I never knew that about those foods, but I am so so thankful you did that research and that your hands are doing so much better. <3
I know!! It’s crazy
Grapeseed oil works well for eczema or at least it does for mine. I also suffer from latex sensitivities and have more reaction with the foods that are listed as low and medium cross-reactive with coconut being the worse (shampoos, soaps, toothpaste). I also have Mast Cell Activation Disease and sensitive to benzoates.
Be careful as many ornamental yard plants are in the latex/rubber family and will cause a reaction.
I never thought to use grapeseed oil, thank you! I’m glad you were able to figure out what causes your eczema, I’m sorry you have to live with that diagnosis though.
Hi friend, I have a pretty bad latex food and topicals cross reaction that worsened in the past year. Almost everything on every list bothers me now As long as you are doing well, I am happy for you! Just FYI, shea butter and mango butter are potentially in the latex cross reaction groups, and hopefully no nuts are issues for you!
Oh that’s awful to hear! I found out eggs and nuts bother my eczema now too. I have a lotion that has both of those butters in them, I wonder if it also contributes to it.
Hi there!! This article was super helpful, i have an infant whose eczema got so much worse when Introducing foods. I have a latex allergy and there’s a 50/50 chance he does too so I’m wondering if he also suffers. I would love to chat with you more !
I’m so glad this article was helpful! It definitely could be the case, I’m happy to chat with you as much as you’d like. You can shoot me an email at devotedexistence@outlook.com
Hello Jessica! I just found out about this relation to latex allergy and fruits, my baby just started trying food and I started with avocado, banana and papaya how would I know these would give him very bad eczema. Anyways I am just looking for ideas of foods that I can give him now.
Hey Marianna, is your baby having eczema? If he isn’t, I would continue to try different foods on him to see how he reacts. Hopefully he doesn’t have any trouble 🙂
Yes, he is having bad eczema at least with the 3 things we have tried so far avocado, banana and papay
I also seem to react to most every food that is cross reactive to latex. Would love to hear what you are eating. Thanks.
I’m 68 and have had excema for 50+ years after leaving Alaska. Fresh fruits and lots of avocados waited for me in California! Recently reactions to all latex foods have raised a problem! Goodbye my friend the avocado…who thin 5 days on non latex my ears cleared…no ringing…no drainage…I never knew!
This gave me chills! I am so happy you found the root of your eczema. It is a relentless symptom. Hope you continue to see improvements! 🙂