I just want to check with you all - possible latex allergy?

[rikkitsune.livejournal.com]

Hi everybody,
I had a bit of a mishap involving latex gloves during sex with my partner on the weekend, and I wanted to run it past you and hear your thoughts on whether I might have a latex allergy.


My partner used to chew his nails right down to the quick, so his fingers were always smooth. He used to fist me, which I loved and I would have massive, intense orgasms.

He has grown his fingernails back in the past couple of months and now trims them with a nail clipper. We've noticed that fingering is now painful for me and can't even get remotely close to fisting. I've tried filing and buffing the edges off his nails, but it doesn't help.

On Saturday night, we decided to try again, but he would wear latex gloves. It had been almost 3 weeks since we'd had sex of any description, and sometimes my vagina gets a bit "out of practice."

The gloves were a bit grippy at first, but we added more lube and then it was fine. We paused after my first orgasm and I noticed a burning, stinging sensation all over my outer labia. I thought I was just a bit out of shape (so to speak), so I went to the bathroom, gave myself a wipe with a cold flannel and rubbed some coconut oil on my vulva, which stopped the stinging almost straight away.

So we started "round two", but within a minute I asked my partner to stop, because the burning was back, twice as bad. He had a look down there for me and couldn't see any redness, but I had a bit of a feel and my labia were swollen - not in the good arousal way, but the tight, puffy uneven way of an allergic reaction. So I went again with the cold flannel, some ice and then some sorbolene cream, which helped a lot. I also took an antihistamine and some painkillers.

The next morning, everything seemed to be all right again, just a slight bit of residual soreness. We were in agreement that it seemed to be a latex allergy, but I thought it was a bit strange, because I'd never had trouble with condoms. Although, we haven't used condoms for 4 years.


What does everyone think? Latex allergy? Not enough lube? I'm thinking of trying vinyl gloves next time to see what happens.

Comments

[knittinggoddess.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. It could be a latex sensitivity, or it could be a reaction to something in the lube. (Check the label for glycerin and parabens.) BV and yeast also cause pain during penetration, even in lieu of other symptoms, so those are options as well.

Another thought: What kind of birth control are you using? When I was on the Nuvaring, I had similar symptoms. They abated somewhat when I switched to a better lube (Sliquid H2O organics is awesome), and then went away fully when I stopped using the Ring.

[rikkitsune.livejournal.com]

Well, uh, we were using spit, but I didn't want to gross anyone out. ;D

I haven't noticed any of the typical symptoms of BV, but I'll keep an eye out for yeast.

I'm also using the Nuva Ring and have done for about 4 years. Previous no-problem fistings occurred whilst using the ring.

[knittinggoddess.livejournal.com]

The spit might be part of the problem, honestly. (And why would spit be grosser than anything else that gets discussed here?) It's good for rejuvenating water-based lube and for getting things a little wet, but it sucks if you want any kind of cushion or slipperiness. Also, a nurse at the county STD clinic told me that saliva can lead to yeast infections. So there's that.

Hopefully it's not the Ring! I really liked it as birth control, but the pain cropped up a little over a year into it and never went away for as long as I was using that method.

[knittinggoddess.livejournal.com]

On rereading, I realized that you said fingering has been painful for a while now. But other kinds of penetration haven't been painful? Are you less turned on when you're being fingered than you are when there's PIV involved? This sounds less like a latex sensitivity and more like an infection...or the Ring.

[rikkitsune.livejournal.com]

Gentle fingering is fine. Rough fingering begins to "scrape" and hurt, and I'm 99% sure it's the fingernails. Dildos are fine and PIV is fine.

It may very well be that the ring is making my vagina a bit more sensitive. I wouldn't be surprised. But I am reluctant to try another kind of HBC... I had bad experiences with the pill, and I am totally not into getting implants or IUDs. Too scary for me.

[knittinggoddess.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh, ok. Well, if the new glove material doesn't fully protect you from the nails, a lesbian trick is to add a bit of cotton ball at the end of each finger, for more padding from the nails. Also, you might want to ensure the gloves are smooth rather than slightly textured.

And if you don't use latex gloves, you could use coconut oil as lube...

[rikkitsune.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip, especially the cotton ball trick. Definitely gonna try that, because the gloves DIDN'T protect from the nail edges, so he had to wear two gloves on his hand, lol.

[rikkitsune.livejournal.com]

Also, we've just started using coconut oil and... we're a bit disappointed. Maybe we're doing it wrong.

[knittinggoddess.livejournal.com]

I was underwhelmed too. I find it's not as cushiony as other lubes, and only really adds to the general slipperiness of things. It definitely lasts longer than any water-based lube I've ever tried, though. In my experience, it's best for lubricating the labia and very opening.

[rikkitsune.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't think it's gross personally, but I always get into trouble when I make assumptions. Best to play it safe.

I will look into using proper lube when fisting. Spit works fine for PIV sex, but I might need something a little more forgiving for taking fingers and hands, eh? ^^

I love the ring. It's the most convenient thing ever. I had a little bit of trouble a couple of years ago with post coital bleeding (turns out internal cervical cells were migrating to the outside), but it resolved itself and things have been fine since then.

[eli-artemisia.livejournal.com]

Is there reliable research available supporting the idea that saliva causes yeast infections? I've gone my whole life without them and all of a sudden I'm getting one every few weeks. I'm trying to pinpoint what it is that I'm doing differently that could be causing it, and one thing I can say is that my current partner is much more generous when it comes to oral sex. I really hope that is NOT the source of my suffering

[knittinggoddess.livejournal.com]

The nurse told me that the only peer-reviewed study to find a connection between anything and YIs showed a connection to saliva...but I haven't followed up on it. There might be something on PubMed, though. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=saliva%20vaginal%20yeast%20infection)

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

i found out i was latex sensitive during condom usage...i hadnt had any reason to use condoms for roughly 7 years due to a monogamous relationship and a tubal ligation. then my ex and i decided to open the marriage, and it was my first tryst. ohhh boy. i was decidedly miserable, burning itching inflamed vulva and vagina, to the point i thought a bottle brush would be a MARVELOUS idea!

(no, i didnt. i just thought it was a good idea! topical benadryl and benadryl tablets got me through those two weeks...i have a weakened immune system, so it took a while for things to clear up.)

if nothing else, vinyl gloves are fairly non-reactive. so are nitrile, and nitrile are also stretchier. :)

[rikkitsune.livejournal.com]

Thank you for that. I will look into those kinds of gloves. :)

[elialshadowpine.livejournal.com]

Latex sensitivity here and this is about how I react to condoms and latex gloves if used regularly. I switched to vinyl for the gloves and use polyisoprene if I need to use condoms.

Sensitivities are a bit different because they can build up over time. I had no issues whatsoever with latex until I went off hbc and started using them regularly. My prior relationship, we had used polyurethane condoms and latex only if we couldn't find the polyurethane. With my current relationship, polyurethane was too small and didn't stretch and caused severe constriction, redness, and pain (it should not look like a cooked lobster, just saying)... so, we used latex regularly, and OW OW OW OW OW OW. Basically, your symptoms.

I've stopped using latex regularly and let my doctors know to use non latex gloves and such, because I've heard from other people with sensitivities that they can turn into full blown allergies if the contact is frequent enough. Needless to say, I'd rather avoid that, since not everyone pays attention to instructions like "don't use latex".

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

No, cooked lobster is not a good look for the bits!

And if there is sensitivity to latex, you may want to consider a medical alert tag of some sort. A simple latex one is cheap at a pharmacy, or if you have other allergies or medical issues, MedicAlert is a company I've had products from for over a dozen years now.

[rikkitsune.livejournal.com]

That's a good idea!

[rikkitsune.livejournal.com]

Ouch, you poor thing. Thanks for the info, I'll be careful about latex exposure from now on.

[gryphonwing.livejournal.com]

Does sound like a latex sensitivity, but... it actually could be a reaction to something else in the gloves. I used to react to some brands of gloves and not others, and I'm not allergic to latex.

There are non-latex gloves out there - maybe give that a try, and pad the fingertips if necessary. You can use relatively cheap vinyl gloves - I'm assuming you're not worried about STI transmission in this case. Plus more lube, lots and lots more, as long as you know it isn't something you react to badly.

[rikkitsune.livejournal.com]

That's a good point. Might be the powder or the colouring, or anything really. But now, I'm a bit leery of using latex on/in my vagina ever again, if you know what I mean.

No, STI transmission is not a factor here, so we'll definitely be trying out the vinyl gloves. And moar lube. :)

[ginny-toxic.livejournal.com]

I had a coworker we had to buy latex free gloves for because he was allergic to him, and I teased him about getting him lambskin condoms for christmas or something and he said it was just something in the latex gloves he was allergic to, and not latex itself. So that's not unheard of. (I assume others posted and said as such, but just adding another story)

(I've actually see him start to get read from where I touched him when chasing him around wearing the gloves myself. And knew his ex girlfriend. So his story is true lol)

[nakedfaery.livejournal.com]

I'm allergic to latex and my symptoms if I get touched with it sound similar to yours. Itching, stinging, burning and puffiness.

It could be an additive used during the manufacture of the gloves. Were they powder free?