You are ready to draw a patient's blood, and he says that he is highly allergic to latex. How should you respond to this statement?

Answer 1

With a patient who is allergic to latex, you should immediately avoid having the patient come into contact with latex. You would use a nonlatex tourniquet and nonlatex gloves. The phlebotomist should also wash his or her hands before handling any of the nonlatex items to avoid transferring latex from the previous patient.