People with an undiagnosed latex allergy often suffer from symptoms such as itchy and red skin, swollen lips and cold symptoms. This is because latex is hidden in numerous everyday objects and even some foods.
- Take your sample at home, with just one finger prick
- Receive a professional analysis from a medical laboratory
- Get a comprehensive results report
- Receive concrete recommendations on steps to take
- Receive your results within a few days after the sample’s arrival in the laboratory
Information about the Latex Allergy Test
Take a blood sample
With the lancet enclosed with the Latex Allergy Test, take a few drops of blood yourself and collect them on the dried blood spot card provided.
Activate the test online
Enter your test ID after logging in on your My cerascreen user account on our website or in our app. You then answer a few short questions, so that we can give you personalised recommendations.
Send your sample
Send the dried blood spot card by post free of charge to our medical partner laboratory using the return envelope.
Laboratory analysis
Your sample is tested for the number of specific IgE antibodies for cow’s milk and chicken egg protein.
Detailed results report
The result report tells you whether you are sensitised to latex. This indicates that an allergy to latex is present – and thus an allergy to rubber products.
High quality standards
The cerascreen® send-in home test kits are analysed in specialist medical laboratories with which doctors and clinics also work. All our laboratory partners meet our high quality standards.
Advantages of the Latex Allergy Test
Do you suffer from recurring complaints such as irritated skin and swollen eyes? This could be due to a latex allergy. A blood test will give you a useful indication of whether you could be allergic to latex. This way, you can avoid objects containing rubber in everyday life – and live with fewer irritating symptoms.
You can take your sample for the cerascreen® Latex Allergy Test discreetly and conveniently at home. The test is a blood test, which involves a small finger prick – the sample analysis then takes place in a specialised medical laboratory.
Benefit from our expertise: cerascreen® is the market leader for send-in home test kits in Europe, with eight years of experience in developing and analysing tests. We have developed more than 50 approved send-in test kits (medical devices), analyse around 150,000 samples annually and serve 20 countries.
Your results report
As soon as your sample has been analysed, you will be able to view your individual results report in the My cerascreen® mobile app or by logging in on our website, where you can also print the report.
The laboratory analysis will tell you if you are sensitised to latex and therefore possibly allergic to it. If you have a latex allergy, learn how to avoid triggers and replace the right everyday items with our recommendations. We also provide comprehensive health information explaining more about latex allergy, rubber products and typical cross-reactions.
Frequently asked questions about the Latex Allergy Test
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Why should I test for a latex allergy?
Latex is also known as natural rubber and is processed into the rubber we find in around 40,000 different everyday items. You will find it in products as diverse as trainers, condoms, diving goggles and chewing gum. So, if you are allergic to latex, you will encounter many possible allergens in your everyday life.
A latex allergy can be responsible for red and itchy skin, swollen lips, sniffles and shortness of breath. Such symptoms also occur with other allergies. That’s why it can be useful to do allergy tests to find out the source of your symptoms. If you know what is causing your symptoms, you can then avoid the culprits in everyday life.
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How does the Latex Allergy Test work?
With the Latex Allergy Test, you take a few drops of blood yourself with a lancet and collect the blood on a dried blood spot card. You then send the sample to a specialist laboratory free of charge using a return envelope. The laboratory analyses your blood to see how high the number of IgE antibodies for latex is.
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What does the Latex Allergy Test tell me?
The results report will tell you whether you are sensitised to latex and, if so, how severe this sensitivity is. If you are sensitised to latex, your immune system reacts defensively when it encounters the latex allergens. An allergy is present if this sensitisation leads to allergic reactions – however, this is not always the case.
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Which recommendations will I receive after the Latex Allergy Test?
If you have a latex allergy, you should avoid latex products as much as possible. Substitute products are available – for example, protective gloves, which are not made of latex but of vinyl. Other rubber alternatives are silicone, neoprene and nitrile.
Also be aware of possible cross-allergies. Some people with latex allergies react to foods closely related to natural rubber. These include avocado, tomato, banana, potato and hazelnut and walnut.
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What is latex?
Latex is a milky liquid obtained from the rubber tree. The latex is industrially processed into rubber.
Rubber is not only used to make car tyres, condoms, balloons and diving suits. Rubber is also frequently used in the medical sector, for example in protective gloves, catheters and respiratory masks. Latex is also found in sweets, especially chewing gum.
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What happens when you have a latex allergy?
An allergy is when your immune system reacts defensively upon contact with harmless substances such as latex. Substances that trigger allergies in this way are also called allergens. Researchers do not yet know how exactly such an allergy develops.
If you have a latex allergy, your body reacts to certain proteins that are found in rubber. You may experience symptoms when your skin comes into contact with latex or when you inhale or eat latex. Typical symptoms include itchy, red skin after wearing protective rubber gloves.
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What are symptoms of a latex allergy?
The symptoms you experience with a latex allergy depend on how the latex gets into your body. Usually, sufferers may experience uncomfortable reactions on their skin, in the mouth or in the respiratory tract.
Typical symptoms of a latex allergy include:
- itchy and red skin
- blistering and swelling of the lips
- allergic rhinitis, cough and shortness of breath
- itchy eyes
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How do I treat a latex allergy?
There are medicines such as antihistamines that can relieve latex allergy symptoms. But currently, the only long-term solution is to avoid rubber products. This may mean that you have to resort to substitute products. In medical environments, for example, there are usually protective gloves made of vinyl, because latex allergies have proved common in the past.
It is also worth looking out for possible cross-allergies. People with latex allergies often react to different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Common reactions are to avocado, banana and kiwi.
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For whom is the Latex Allergy Test not suitable?
The Latex Allergy Test is not suitable for or is only suitable to a limited extent for certain groups of people:
- People with infectious diseases, such as hepatitis and HIV, are not allowed to take the Latex Allergy Test.
- People with haemophilia should not take the blood test.
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women should only take the Latex Allergy Test under medical supervision. The reference values and recommendations do not apply to them either, so they should receive recommendations on the test result from a doctor.
- The Latex Allergy Test is not suitable for children under 18 years of age.
The test is not intended for diagnosing disease. For example, if you suffer from severe skin lesions, seek medical advice.
