Latex Allergies? Avoid Poinsettia Plants!

Filed in archive Latex/Rubber Allergies on December 18, 2007

Poinsettia is a plant that is often used as a decoration during the Christmas holidays. There are many stories that try to explain what poinsettias have got to do with Christmas, but if you have latex allergies, make your life simpler and just stay away from this plant.

Poinsettia plants are botanically related to rubber trees and contain a compound similar to that found in rubber latex. Thus, poinsettia can cause a severe allergic reaction in people with latex allergies. According to a study by researchers at the Medical College of Georgia, 40% of individuals with latex allergy are allergic to poinsettia.

This is because latex and poinsettia share several proteins. They found IgE antibodies to poinsettia in the blood samples of people with Latex Allergy. By means of special tests like gel electrophoresis, immunoblot and immunoblot inhibition, two proteins called cross- reactive allergens were identified. These are major and minor latex allergen proteins, Hev b 6.01 and Hev b10, respectively.

If you have latex allergies and you really want to have poinsettias in your home this holiday season, you may want to have artificial garlands instead.