DID YOU KNOW?

Between 8 percent and 12 percent of healthcare workers are at risk for latex allergies, says the CDC. Among the general population, the at-risk number is far less - between 1 percent and 6 percent.

Surgical facilities have heeded safety experts' calls to move away from latex gloves and, thus, the potential for latex-protein sensitization and anaphylactic reactions to natural rubber. And they're doing so in greater numbers than ever before.