Have you had this problem ?

I have a latex allergy and it has become apparent(allergic reaction) that when I eat out, I have to call ahead to a restaurant to see if they use latex gloves when prepping/preparing food. Does anyone else have this problem, and if so, how do you handle eating out without having to worry? The place I had the reaction at used to be a "safe" place for me to eat, but now I have to avoid going there for fear of another reaction. I went on vacation, and I spent a half an hour on the phone calling restaurants until I found one that was latex free. This is no way to spend a vacation, especially when you are a guest(they totally understood my risk factor, but I felt bad). Why does the food service industry have to put people at risk in using a potentially fatal item? Who do I contact to try and get this to change so I can enjoy eating out without having to worry if my throat closes up(or worse)? I already went to an allergist(confirmed latex as the cause) and gave me an epi-pen.

Um, this is NOT a laughing matter, this can be FATAL to people. I already eat most of my meals at home and it would be nice to be like the rest of people who can go out and enjoy not having to cook once in a while.

Latex allergy is no laughing matter. It is becoming a common allergy. That is why many hospitals and medical clinics have gone latex free. You are doing all the right things by carrying an Epi-pen and phoning ahead of time.

See if there is a local allergy group that would be interested in educating restaurants/fast foods places in this allergy. More and more businesses are recognizing food allergies so it is should not be difficult to add latex allergy to the warnings.

One thing I would like to point out is that although it is a health requirement for food preparers to wear gloves, there are non latex disposable gloves available. The cost is not significantly different. When you talk to restaurants let them know that there is an alternative. They may not be aware of this.

Thank you to those who expressed positive comments regarding this issue. I never thought of it as a disablity, though. Perhaps the poster who mentioned this may have something there? If bare hands are an issue, I cannot understand why they just don't use vinyl gloves? Report It

i'm having this problem as well feel free to contact me about this matter i have created a petition to stop the use of latex as more and more people are becoming allergic to it. moonlightknightsqueen@yahoo.co... Report It

:LOL well they use latex because not many people have this problem which won't effect their service if they use latex gloves. Just don't eat out then. Make your own food from a grocery store it's cheaper. If you must then just call resteraunts and ask them. I'm pretty sure no one can really help you find exzact resturaunts that don't use latex. I'm sure no one worries about it.

I agree this is not a laughing matter !

People that think it is funny need to keep their mouth's shut because it only makes them look stupider then they really are.

I know you pain my daughter has the same problem,

We had to go talk to a owner of a restaurant that we liked to frequent, and explained our situation, he agreed if we wanted to go out to eat we could call ahead and he would have part of his crew that would be handling our food and stuff to scrub up real good and prepare our food without the use of latex supplies,

he did say the reason we have a hard time finding places to go that don't use latex supplies is because it is a health standard and if anyone working with food for the public was caught handling food with their bare hands could get the place closed down because so many places don't monitor the hand washing procedures of their employees and they can cause sickness and death to the public.
The government that made this decision are looking out for the health of the majority of the public. We need to bring this before the board of Americans with disabilities, because this is a disability.

why taking the risk to die by eating out just dont.