Latex is a milky liquid that comes from the incision of the tropical plant Hevea brasiliensis grown in Brazil and Asia and is the cause of different types of pathologies.

This rubber was imported into the Old Continent in the fifteenth century and became an industrial product since 1839 when Goodyear accidentally discovered a process that allowed to stabilize the elastic properties of rubber (vulcanization) and created in 1890 the first pair of rubber gloves for surgical use.

Latex allergy has recently become increasingly of interest due to the increased exposure to this rubber with consequent increase in sensitization in particular of healthcare personnel (doctors, paramedics, dentists); rubber manufacturing workers; children with spina bifida and carriers of anomalies of the urogenital tract; patients with a history of allergies, particularly bronchial asthma or who have undergone repeated surgery, or with documented food allergies to fruit, in particular kiwi and banana.

There are also numerous categories at professional risk: healthcare workers, rubber industry workers, housewives, gardeners; the latter can become sensitized not only by the use of gloves but also through the Ficus Benjamina plants with which they come into contact, since they contain allergens cross-reactive with latex. Based on this, guidelines have been defined for the prevention of latex allergy.