Posted 4/7/2009 8:30 AM (GMT -7)
Hi,
I've been trying to live with urticaria for 12 years now and just recently may have made a discovery that could be the cause of my chronic urticaria. I work in a lab every day and eventhough I stopped using latex gloves a long time ago, I thought I'd have my doctor test me for latex allergies. I had excessive hives after an vein closure surgery and then again after a dental visit. So, my doctor ran the latex allergy test, which is seperate from the usual allergy test, and told me to stay away from bananas! Turns out that bananas have the same protein as latex, chitinase, as does kiwi, avicado, and chestnuts. I only have been having bananas Monday through Friday for a long time. So I've avoided bananas for three days now, and so far, no hives! no itchiness around my mouth! no angioedema on my face or in my GI tract! I'm still waiting for my latex allergy results, but I'm 99.9% certain that this is the cause of all my urticaria!
Has anybody else been tested for latex allergies?