Latex and low pressure hoses

[mmajor]

Does any one know if there are latex free low pressure hoses? I have a patient highly allergic to latex and she wants to scuba dive. I have contacted a variety of manufactures without any satisfactory answers.
thank you
Mitchell Major

 

[Spoon]

i have never heard of latex free hoses, there must be another way

 

[miguel sanz]

there´s lots of people allergic to latex, it should exist. If it doesn´t, maybe covering it with some plastic.
Maybe the manufacturers don´t have a special latex-free but some are made without it (¿?¿?&#191, ask what there´re made with.

 

[Scottri]

Check a local dive shop for hose wraps. They come in several colors. They are made of a harder plastic that just winds around the hose. They would prevent contact with the rubber. There are also some wraps made of a woven material but I'm not sure what it is.

 

[scubatoys]

Check a local dive shop for hose wraps. They come in several colors. They are made of a harder plastic that just winds around the hose. They would prevent contact with the rubber. There are also some wraps made of a woven material but I'm not sure what it is.

The woven material is called "tech flex" and it would do a very good job of covering all the hoses. It also comes in lots of colors... It's kinda' a pain to put on properly, but we do it for 10 bucks a hose. If you shoot me a pm with an address, I can drop a few inches of it in the mail to you and you can check it out. It's just like the braided mesh you see on car engines a lot... plastic mesh, but the mesh is so tight, I think any contact with the actual hose would be virtually impossible.

 

[oxyhacker]

Are you worrying about incidental contact with the outside of the hose, or breathing particles from within?

Regulator hoses tend to be made of a variety of synthetic rubbers, like butyl and nitrile, rather than natural rubber.

Does any one know if there are latex free low pressure hoses? I have a patient highly allergic to latex and she wants to scuba dive. I have contacted a variety of manufactures without any satisfactory answers.
thank you
Mitchell Major

 

[pescador775]

What "hacker" said. I've never heard of latex low pressure hoses. Once upon a time, many scuba items were made of natural rubber. Today, it's Apollo fins and a speargun's rubber bands. That's about it.

 

[mmajor]

I am most worried about the internal covering with latex. If she breathes it she will have a sever allergic reaction. Toy balloons have sent her to the ICU on a vent.

 

[oxyhacker]

Pardon the delay in responding, but we ran your question by several vendors and manufacturers of scuba hoses but I just heard back from one, Dick Boyd at Global, who tends to know what he is talking about.

According to Dick, the inner hoses are made of a nitrile PVC blend, and contain no latex. He also commented that while allergic reactions are common in scuba, to seals, masks, and mouthpieces, he knows of no instances of allergic reactions to hose materials, from breathing air that has gone through the hose.

I am most worried about the internal covering with latex. If she breathes it she will have a sever allergic reaction. Toy balloons have sent her to the ICU on a vent.

 

[mmajor]

Pardon the delay in responding, but we ran your question by several vendors and manufacturers of scuba hoses but I just heard back from one, Dick Boyd at Global, who tends to know what he is talking about.

According to Dick, the inner hoses are made of a nitrile PVC blend, and contain no latex. He also commented that while allergic reactions are common in scuba, to seals, masks, and mouthpieces, he knows of no instances of allergic reactions to hose materials, from breathing air that has gone through the hose.

Thanks for the reply and info, Ive been off diving. The hose problem was not a problem after all, and all her gear was non-latex certified. She is now diving and breathing ok. Thanks again