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                                                                    10:45 AM
  OFFICE MEMO                                                 Time:
                      Subject:
                      RE>Rash Question                              8/22/94
                                                              Date:

>Steve,

>The problem of latex sensitivity is a growing one in the medical field,
>and probably needs to be considered here (as most drysuit seals are
>latex or latex based.).

John,

I know, my wife is a nurse (Labor and Delivery) so I have seen firsthand
how the medical field has been dealing with the issue of Latex allergies
(and the associated costs for non-latex products). My wife*s allergy is 
severe enough that her doctor advised her to carry an epinepherine pen
with her :-(.

Good to hear from you, have you been away?

>If a true allergy is occuring, then the diver should consider going to
>neoprene seals (especially if the rash and blotches do not occur when
>diving wet in a neoprene wetsuit.).

I have seen people diving in wetsuits surface with a rash. I think that it is
the material used to dress the wrist and neck areas of the wetsuit. I 
theorize that the manufacturers have taken some shortcuts with the raw
material and there are trace contaminants in the elastic dressing.

>The only real answer is to avoid contact with the latex, so an alternative
>to the latex seals is the only answer for divers who want to continue to
>dive dry.

Avoiding latex is a tough thing to do. My wife has a list of materials and 
products that contain latex and thier derivitives. I will try to remember to
bring it in and distribute the list.

This is one of the issues that I was getting at. I have not seen the issue
addressed (or for that matter mentioned) in the diving community.

I just sent out a feeler to see if other people have encountered this 
(given the assumed high rate of divers in techdiver that are wearing
drysuits, as opposed to rec.scuba and scuba-l). I should probably cross post
this to those groups and see what the response is.

BTW, your mailer is sending duplicates (or techdiver);-)

>John 

Steve

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