When I was 5 months old, I had my first allergic reaction. My face got a rash and was swollen.

As I got older, I continued having these reactions to different things: the mats I slept on in day care, the basketballs in gym class, the tarps on the bottom of tents, water balloons, regular latex balloons, stage makeup, even raw potato and banana, and that’s just the short list.

For the longest time we couldn’t figure out what was going on until one night, I was sleeping in a tent in the backyard. I woke up with hives down both my arms, my face was super swollen, and my eyes were almost swollen shut. I was taken to the ER where they said they believed I was allergic to latex.

Since then, I have gotten so much worse. Latex allergies are progressive meaning they get worse over time and each exposure poses a threat of a potential anaphylactic reaction.

When I was first diagnosed, I had to touch the object containing latex in order to react. A few years ago, I became airborne. This means that I would react to the latex particles in the air. However, I would have a delayed reaction meaning I would have the exposure and then react usually the next day.

I’ve gotten even worse. I am now at a point where if there is any latex particles around me, I will react in MINUTES. My face will get very swollen, sometimes my lips will swell too. I am fortunate that I have never gone into anaphylactic shock. However, I must be cautious because at any point, my allergy could cause an anaphylactic reaction.

On the note of latex, there is also something called latex fruit syndrome. Natural rubber latex shares some similar proteins with certain fruits, veggies, and nuts. This means many people with latex allergies will also have an allergy to one or more foods on the LFS (latex fruit syndrome) list. There are many foods on the list. The one most of us are allergic to is avocado. In fact, when I was diagnosed with my allergy, I was told to stay away from avocado completely. I also have an allergy to raw potato (the proteins in them get diluted when cooked which is why I can eat them once cooked) and banana. I can’t touch raw potato and I can’t touch or eat banana. My face will swell in a matter of minutes.

This allergy is so tricky because latex is everywhere and there is very limited information and research out there on latex allergies. Those of us with the allergy are constantly on guard. We are always having to advocate for ourselves and our community. We have to contact companies to make sure their products are safe. We have to miss out on important events because we can’t risk a reaction. Something as simple as a kid across the street with a balloon could put me into a reaction and even send me to the ER if it got bad enough.

Every time I have a reaction, I have to go on a week’s course of steroids to stop it. It’s frustrating and it’s scary.

I hope reading this has helped educate others on how bad this allergy is. Please, spread the word.