Though few men and women are allergic to latex condoms, not many are affected by it. Worldwide latex condoms are widely used and the incidence of allergic reaction reported is very negligible. However, if you are very particular about knowing whether you are allergic to latex can be appreciated.
One of the easiest ways to know whether you are allergic to lubricant or condoms is to expose yourself to it. You have no choice but to expose yourself and then see if you get any irritation or feel uncomfortable or painful, then you have to stop it.
There is no way you will be able to know whether you are allergic or not without exposing yourself to it. In some cases, your partner may find it difficult. She may find itching or redness in her vagina or she might get small blisters after sex, then you can know that your partner is allergic to lubricant or condoms.
Then you have to shift to polyisoprene condoms or silica condoms and see how her body reacts to it. In most cases, people who are allergic to latex may find silica and polyisoprene condoms going fine.
But there are some simple ways in which you can find out whether you are allergic to condoms without actually trying a condom
- Use a glove made using latex. Remember, condom doesn't have too many ingredients to test each one of them on your skin. Latex is the main ingredient for most of the condoms available in the market. If there is itching in your skin by wearing a glove, you can be sure that your skin will react negatively if you use a condom
- Also, if you got any allergic reaction during the last time when you used a latex condom, there is no need to panic or no need to jump into conclusion that you are allergic to latex. Just check the manufacturing date of the condom. If the condom is manufactured five years before, chances are that you will find allergic reaction when you use it.
- Remember, over usage of latex also can cause allergic reaction. Remember, healthcare workers have a much higher rate of latex allergy than the general public as their incidence of exposure is way too high than a condom user, who might be using a maximum of 30 condoms a month.
If you don’t want to try any of the above and want professional assistance or if you are really nervous about latex allergy and want to know beforehand whether you are allergic to it, then you can meet an allergist or immunologist who will do a serious of blood tests to ascertain whether you are allergic to latex.
That is the only professional way to know. Even if you found to be allergic, then there is no need to panic as there are condoms made using polyisoprene and silica which can be tried without any hesitation to habituate yourself to safe sex.