Sadie Richardson, 30, was diagnosed with a severe latex allergy at just 18 months old and says everyday objects including balloons and elastic bands can trigger life-threatening anaphylaxis
A mum claims her lethal latex allergy means birthday balloons or entering the wrong supermarket could KILL her – forcing her husband to ‘sniff out’ rubber to keep her safe.
Sadie Richardson was diagnosed with a severe latex allergy at just 18 months old, meaning everyday items including balloons, condoms and elastic bands can trigger life-threatening anaphylaxis. The 30-year-old says her anxiety has intensified since becoming a mum to seven-year-old Lenny Richardson, with her ‘greatest fear’ being having a reaction in public whilst with him.
This compels her to go everywhere with her vigilant partner Rory Richardson, 31, who warns her about potential dangers and can even detect rubber by smell. Whilst a trip to the local shop is typically safe for Sadie, Rory accompanies her when visiting supermarkets or unfamiliar places – for fear they could expose her to harm.
She says she feels like a ‘burden’ for being unable to take her child to the park as the surfaces are often made from rubber, or to birthday parties in case there are balloons present.
Her allergy is so extreme that even indirect contact with latex triggers a reaction, and in 2021 she was rushed to hospital after ‘instinctively’ picking up Lenny when he tumbled over in the park.
Taking to TikTok, the parent shared a video captioned ‘a trip to the park is a novelty for my son, as I cannot take him’, which has since gone viral with more than 370,000 views.
In the clip you can see Rory pushing their thrilled son on the swings whilst Sadie is forced to watch from the sidelines. Another clip shows Lenny removing an elastic band from some broccoli to spare his mum from touching it. Sadie says she feels ‘terrified’ her allergy could cause Lenny to lose his mum and she must carry an EpiPen everywhere she goes.
The charity communications and marketing officer hopes to raise awareness about her allergy and encourages people not to be ‘afraid to speak up’.
Sadie, who lives in Reading, Berkshire, said: “If I were to go to the park it could literally kill me. I used to think my mum was really cruel when I was little because I was like ‘why aren’t you letting me do this stuff other kids can’.
“Now I’m a parent myself and I can’t take [my son] to parks and parties are really tricky to navigate.
“I’m so lucky he’s so understanding and really mature about it. I now feel how my mum must’ve felt when I was little. For him going to the park is such a treat and an exciting thing because he doesn’t get to do it often.
“He only gets to do it when my other half will take him or if he’s on a playdate or something. I do feel like a bit of a burden to my other half because no one really enjoys a child’s party. He’s willing to take him but I do feel a bit guilty that it all falls on him.
“I have a lot of anxiety since becoming a mum. I like to go everywhere with my other half because I feel safer if I were to have a reaction, especially if we’ve got our son there as well.
“One of my biggest fears is that I have a reaction in a public place and I have to put my trust into a stranger whilst I’m being attended to. I have my safe places that I can go to. I can go to the shop up the top of my road fine. But if it’s to new places or to bigger supermarkets I prefer going with my partner because I just feel a lot safer.
“It gets annoying. It’s second nature to me now because I’ve had it for so long. But there’s instances where I’ve been out shopping before and my partner’s like ‘move over someone’s got a door mat in their basket’. He’s very aware of things I need to be mindful of.”
When we go to get my son wellies my partner has to come with me and smell the wellies because he’s learned how to sniff out the rubber. “The mum confessed she’s endured two severe allergic reactions from touching a door mat in IKEA in 2019 and picking up her son who fell in the park in 2021.This compelled her to use her EpiPen and dash to hospital each time.
Sadie explained: “It’s more since becoming a parent and knowing I have somebody that depends on me has triggered my anxiety with it more. When I was younger I was more ignorant with it and thought ‘that will never happen to me’.
“When I had my allergic reaction from the doormat my son was seven months old and I was just crying like ‘my son’s not going to have a mum’. I was just devastated. That’s what’s scary now.”
She added: “We went to the park with my son and I didn’t go in. He’d fallen over and I just instinctively grabbed him off of my partner and because he’d fallen onto the rubber floor I had a reaction.
“I had to have my EpiPen administered and be monitored at the hospital to make sure it didn’t progress any further. For everyone involved it was distressing.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.