So you've got a latex allergy. You can't wear a neoprene wetsuit because you break out in hives or a rash. What can you do?
This has been the question for over forty years. In talking with people who have this allergy, we have heard all sorts of stories about good ideas and not so good ideas all attempting to solve this problem.
Harry “Butch” Linden is a surfer out of Santa Barbara, California. He has been surfing for decades and is a past US Champion on the senior tour and routinely competes in surfing contests on the West Coast. The challenge with the west coast is that the Ocean Currents come down from Alaska to the north. This makes California water cold, very cold, especially in winter. Harry has the Rubber Allergy and is faced with giving up his passion for surfing or dealing with hives and rashes from his wetsuit. Harry writes...
Just for your information here is what I have tried and none of these have worked. I went to my doctor and he gave two prescription antihistamines to try as I found some relief with over the counter Benedryl. The Benedryl worked better. I also went to a specialist who of course suggested not surfing or going without a wetsuit. Obviously this person never had a passion for an activity. I tried the full body dip in Vaseline and that did not work.
The biggest hope I had was spraying the entire inside of my wetsuit using two cans of Plasti Dip "rubber" coating. It is actually a styrene. It stiffened the suit up a bit but also did not work as the neoprene could stretch further and the coating was immediately separated. I also tried some of the skin guard lotions but they immediately dissolve in water.
You are my last hope.
Harry
We have also heard stories about surfers and diver wearing multiple layers of Spandex body suits. This may help you look better on the beach but the suits have no insulating value at all. Even if you wear them under the wetsuit, histamine in the neoprene will be carried by the water, through the layers of Spandex and into contact with your skin. So what is a water sports enthusiast to do?
Until now the only options were to give up the sports you love, freeze, or deal with the results of the allergy. We at just didn’t like those options. We set out to do something about it.