Itchy? Check Out These Common Allergies You've Probably Never Heard Of

April 4, 2006 — -- Let's say your friend is allergic to peanuts or perhaps she's bothered by mold. These are common allergies, so the news comes as no great shock.

But what if she discovers she's allergic to her husband? Or, more specifically, to his semen?

Yes, an allergic reaction to a man's semen is a real problem, and it's just one of several little-known but serious allergies that afflict people. Some of these can even be deadly.

"It's surprisingly common," said Dr. Larry Borish, professor of medicine at the Asthma and Allergic Disease Center at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville.

"I see a few cases a year," Borish said. "It tends to be particular to one partner. It's the protein in the semen and these are particular enough that they change from person to person."

"These are women who typically present hives and swelling locally, in the vagina," he said.

In severe cases, however, there can be a full-blown anaphylactic reaction, which may cause hives, swelling, difficulty breathing, abdominal cramping and a loss of blood pressure serious enough to be life-threatening.

One way a person might try to solve his or her semen allergy is by using a latex condom during sex. But that could present another set of problems: latex allergies.

Latex allergies were more commonplace in the early days of the AIDS crisis, explained Dr. Harold Nelson, allergist and professor of medicine at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver.

"There was an epidemic of latex sensitivity among health care workers because of the introduction of latex as a preventive measure against HIV transmission," Nelson said. The main culprit seemed to be the powder used in latex gloves.

Changes in the manufacturing process, however, have since eliminated many of the problems associated with latex allergies.

"This epidemic is definitely over," Nelson said, though there are still people who have an allergic reaction to balloons, condoms and other products made with latex.