Rubber latex medical gloves

Today, medical personnel use latex medical gloves to protect their hands, the use of which has increased significantly over the past decade. This is primarily due to the spread of infectious diseases and the protection of medical personnel.

The first time rubber gloves were used in 1834 by Dr. Richard Cook in New Jersey as a means of protection against gynecological sepsis in obstetrics, and in 1883, Dr. Joseph Bloodgood conducted research on the level of infection and proved that when medical personnel use gloves during surgery, the infection rate of patients decreases sharply.

When using latex gloves, there is a danger of the fastest growing disease: allergy: - allergy to proteins contained in natural latex (Protein allergy type 1) - allergy to chemicals that remain in gloves after the end of the manufacturing process (Allergic contact dermatitis type 4).

Recent scientific studies that were carried out in Finland showed that one out of six medical workers suffers from allergies. To reduce the risk of allergic reactions in the production of rubber gloves, special intensive cleaning and repeated washing technologies are used, the so-called "leaching" that ensures a minimum content of proteins and allergens.

The frequency of positive reactions depends on the quality of the rubber gloves used. In many cases, people who have shown a positive reaction to most allergenic gloves can use the less allergenic latex gloves quite painlessly. The sharp increase in the occurrence of allergies to natural latex is also explained by the fact that rubber gloves manufactured by new companies have recently appeared on the medical market that do not have sufficient experience in the production of latex products and are not able to provide the necessary quality control, but nonetheless these gloves are widely available due to their low prices.

Unfortunately, some manufacturing companies still use the term “hypoallergenic”, despite the fact that the latest edition of the European glove standard EN 455 part 3 and the US FDA standard prohibit the use of this term due to the fact that tests are carried out only to determine residual chemicals, but they cannot accurately determine the presence or absence of natural latex proteins, which nevertheless pose a risk of allergic reactions in some individuals.

Use of medical latex gloves, both powdered and powder free

Powdered latex gloves are widespread in our country. Traditionally, powder has been used to facilitate putting on household gloves. Currently, the use of powder is not necessary, because For this purpose, other substances are used that do not allow latex to stick together. Powder, due to its abrasiveness, is one of the main causes of contact dermatitis (not allergic), as well as frequent hand washing, use of soap or powder. Although the powder itself is not an allergic agent, it can enhance allergic reactions to protein latex due to the fact that it can move (through the air) latex allergens. In addition, studies have shown that being bio-absorbable, powder, falling on the wound surface during surgery, can serve as an additional aggressive factor. Therefore, in recent years there has been a tendency to more widespread use of powder-free gloves, for example, in some European countries it is not recommended to use powder gloves when performing surgical procedures.

Synthetic medical gloves

An alternative to latex gloves is synthetic gloves. A patient with an allergic reaction to latex must be treated in a completely latex-free environment. If at least one person is allergic to latex in the surgical team, the use of synthetic gloves is recommended for all other members.

The use of synthetic gloves is also recommended for certain categories of people who have not previously been diagnosed with an allergic reaction to latex, but who pose a statistical risk of allergies, such as patients who have undergone repeated surgical interventions or have a hereditary predisposition to allergic reactions. For these categories of people, the only way to avoid the risk of allergies is to completely eliminate latex from the environment.

The advantage of synthetic medical gloves is that not inferior to natural latex in physical parameters, namely elasticity, elasticity and strength, synthetic medical gloves do not contain proteins and chemical catalysts used in the production of latex (household) gloves, which means they are absolute