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Allergies to Latex

by Maria Schwarz
(Miami, Florida. USA)

I am working with balloons for the past 5 years as a party decorator, but recently I have some allergy to latex. Is there some kind of balloons made with other material? I really love my job, but my hands did not resist more. Thank you,
Maria Schwarz

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by: Margit

Hello Maria,
I am sorry to hear that you have developed an allergy to latex over the years. I did a little research on the internet, and these are the main facts I found:

- There are no synthetic rubber balloons yet (there are latex free surgery gloves, but the material doesn't seem to have the qualities needed for balloons).
- Other than Mylar or Foil Balloons there is just one alternative that seems to be useful for balloon decorations: plastic balloons.
- For balloon twisters the alternatives are even fewer: PVC balloons and Poly Tubing were mentioned.
- Two products are suggested for twisters with a latex allergy to help them continue their job, at least for some time: Nitril Gloves and a kind of hand cream called "Hands Plus", which acts as a barrier between the skin and the latex.
- All latex free alternatives are more expensive than the latex products - which makes it difficult to survive against your competition.

Most of the information above I found on the following web site (there are also links to other resources - so please check it out):
http://tutorials.simplycircus.com/manipulation/FAQ/latex_free.htm

Wishing you all the best,
Margit

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