serious question about latex free clothing, etc.

[elizabeth]

Hi, gang! Does anyone here know of a good resource for totally latex free clothing, especially good bras (i.e. cotton underwire knit)? Panties too, for that matter... Yeesh, all manner of clothing with NO elastic made from natural rubber latex anywhere. I cannot even find a pair of hose anymore. (Darn! Rats! Shoot! I am heartbroken! :p )

I have googled -- not very successfully. There seems to be ONE model of latex free bra made commercially that looks like something my well-endowed and sedentary grandmother might have worn, but doesn't look like something to suit my less-endowed, more athletic and substantially lower cut modern life very well. This is gonna be TOUGH, I think.

I cannot have ANY elastic containing latex (which is pretty much all elastic, unfortunately) - even if it is fabric covered. My tolerance for even those little fudges has totally timed out, which is a major bummer. It's excruciating to wear anything with natural rubber latex in it -- I get rash, then hives; I wheeze. So far, no anaphylaxis, but I do tend to look like I have a bad case of St. Vitus' dance or lice or something if I make an error. It's pretty awful.

Spandex is OK... as long as there's no elastic band on it anywhere (a big catch).

Any seamstresses with sources for patterns, etc. out there? I'd love to have info there as well. I am an accomplished seamstress (or at least I was), and I am desperate enough to try anything.

Somehow I just do not think that my HMO will actually approve a boob job to support/lift/protect my aging flesh because I cannot find a bra I can wear due to my allergies... What do you think??? ;)

Thanks, everyone!

[elizabeth]

I'm bumping myself to see if anyone has ideas or help. My shrink today diagnosed me as "exhausted" -- now I feel like a celebrity or something. :p

Here I was just feeling overwhelmed, tired, etc. but now I have a diagnosis and the threat (promise?!) of hospitalization if I don't get rest and start getting reasonable nutrition, etc. I am having a very hard time right now with my Mom really sick (chemo for stage 4 ovarian cancer); my having heart trouble and the MS; my husband still having trouble from encephalitis last year; & still trying to get things done with home, homeschooling, etc. There's a lot on my plate. I'm not keeping up well right now, I guess.

Anyway, Dr. N (my psychiatrist) is the greatest, and he's very helpful -- a few days in the psych hospital would not be the worst thing, really. It might be REALLY good! He says I should let him know... He'll let me decide but we are seeing each other every week again now until things even out a bit. He reserves the right to tell me I should head to the hospital, too, and I agreed that's reasonable. I have lost 14 pounds in 3 weeks from stress -- too much. The heart stuff could very well be related to the stress as welol, something I talked to the electrophysiologist about already. WHEE.

Now, if I could just find clothes that I can wear without breaking out into hives... :)

One thing at a time.

Thanks.

[Ro from Vermont]

Dear Elizabeth,
I don't if this will help, but I found this bra that claims it is 100% latex free.

http://www.brasandunderwear.com/leading-lady-latex-free-bras.html

Plus I found this for underpants

http://store.hygienicunderwear.com/pages/latex-free-underwear?gclid=CL_JxO7M5YcCFRUbYAodHwswiQ

I hope this helps.

Ro

[elizabeth]

The bra you found was the same one I did, but it's the one I have tried on and it's -- well -- kind of like putting on one of those Madonna-like pointy things on! It is truly amazingly fender-like... :eek:

The underwear link was a great one, but they don't have any in stock right now. I am going to wait though, because this is EXACTLY what I need. :)

I have been digging through organic cotton clothing sites, hemp clothing sites, etc. and I have come up with some possibilities, though I will say that none of the tops are true bras (yet). Mostly I am finding things that will afford a somewhat supportive layer and that will conceal things I really don't want to intentionally expose to any but my closest friends and/or lovers unless inebriated or unconscious. :p

It's an adventure, anyway... THANK YOU for the help.

[pips]

Wow! I'm experiencing the same issues for the first time in my life and I've felt like the only one in the world with this problem (although I know I'm not)! The world is just not a convient place for a person with a latex allergy! :( I'm glad to find someone else out there. :rolleyes: Mine started with sensitivity to latex gloves, balloons and condoms... eek! And now it's on to rashes, hives and intense itching as a result of elastic! My doc has me taking alevert every day which helps with the hives and reactions to the latex I can't avoid. It's over the counter, so easy to get. I've just begun my quest for latex free clothing. The last person that posted had a great site for underwear. I'm ordering myself some today, we'll see if they are as great as they look. :confused: I found a site for bra's as well. Not necessarily what I was looking for, but better then the grandma bra's it seems. I will continue searching and post if I find anything. The link for the bra is:

http://comfortcorner.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_UG39

Let me know if you have any advice. I'll give you a link to the American Latex Allergy Association as well. It's a good site, although I haven't had the chance to explore it completely yet.

http://www.latexallergyresources.org/topics/consumerProducts.cfm

Good luck! :)

[pips]

Found more... pricey, but here ya go...

http://www.herroom.com/latex-free,150,5.html

This second site has a good mix of prices. I found this list when searching for "latex free" You can look at the material content for each product. They don't appear to have latex, although it doesn't say Latex free in the product description. I'm hoping I'm right thinking they are latex free.

http://www.barenecessities.com/search.asp?SearchHandle=DADBDADJDADADDDGDBGGDFGFGF DIDEGECNGCDFGGGGCNDEDCDBDHCNDJDGDGDHCNGCGDDEDCDEGB GFDDDAGCDADBDADADADBDADADADBDAGMGBHEGFHICAGGHCGFGF DADADADEDADADADADADADADBDFDADADADBDADADADADADADADA DADADADADBDADADADBDAGMGBHEGFHICAGGHCGFGFDADADADBDB&Grid=&PageSettings=0~12~ByRank~~0~0&Revoked=&Size=&SpecialCases=0&mode=-1&msg=&Page=1

[Abby2006]

bump for more help

Abby

[elizabeth]

Hey, THANKS! Pip, you are a life saver for the pointer to the Bare Necessities site. I bit the bullet and bought some real bras and undies -- more credit card debt (just what I don't need) but REAL support graments, which I truly do need. What a relief to find things that are modal and lycra instead of latex rubber. I realize elestic is cheaper, but YEEESH! One would have to believe that there is a large market out there for people like me with raging allergies to the stuff, since hospitals are going latex-free right and left. They are certainly not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, after all.

At any rate, the pointer to the site was a god send, since I now no longer fear a trip to visit the family at the holidays. I was dreading the horrified looks and the inevitable pull aside by my mom or grandmother with a lecture about sagging Cooper's ligaments (those ones that keep us "perky") and such -- I do not jest! :eek:

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! :)

[daisyduck]

I have the same problem with finding Latex free bras and underwear. A website I use is www.decentexposures.com they will sew swimsuits, bra's and underwear in a wide variety of colors and fabrics with latex free elastic. And www.freshpair.com sells a latex free bra that is pretty good called Leading Lady Latex Free Cotton Soft Cup Bra (600). If you sew then using a swimsuit pattern works pretty good for underwear and bra's using polyurethane elastic or other non latex elastic. The latex allergy resource website is great for information: www.latexallergyresources.org. Hope this helps.

[Nondescripta]

Hate to break it to you, but the reason all those bras came up in the Bare Necessities search is that they had either the word latex or the word free in the text. They are not latex free...

I should know, as I have had a latex allergy for 3 years now. The only bras I have been able to find:

- The Leading Lady cotton bra that was already mentioned (no elastic at all, so it's not very comfortable, plus rather grannylike)

- The Brassage (http://www.gaiam.com/product/apparel/intimates/bras-camisoles/brassage--153-+back-closure+bra.do#BVQAWidgetID), although it did not give me enough support (34D) -- could work for less endowed women. Their product description used to state it was latex free but it doesn't anymore -- I just posted a question on their site to ask about this.

- A model by Bali (http://www.barenecessities.com/Bali-Passion-for-Comfort-Underwire-Bra_product_Bali3383_,search,.htm) that has all covered elastic, and I replaced the rear straps with latex free ones. I normally can't stand covered elastic either but somehow this bra works for me.

And that's it. Very sad. For panties I like Decent Exposures which was also mentioned above.

[tinkonthebrink]

Check out Blue Canoe - I have this (http://www.bluecanoe.com/e-store/prod_details.asp?pcid=3101632436589&pcatid=3101629411057&pid=3111818353703) bra in several colors and love it. They have some other latex free styles as well.

[shorty]

Ok, so this site is a little risque, but they do custom lingerie: http://www.cameo-intimates.com/lingerie/biz/custom.html

[GwynneAnne]

Try cottonique at www.cottonique.com. They make latex-free underwear, bras, and tees.

Also check out www.livinglatexfree.com. I just put this site up to help people with NRL allergies find things they need without latex. My duaghter was born allergic to latex.

I have struggled for years to find latex free products. It is getting easier because so many people are demanding these products now, but you still have to be very careful and read labels.