Gloves and latex allergy

Healthcare Purchasing News, April, 2004 by Esah Yip

Dear Editor,

HPN's Guide to Gloves is a helpful re source for those tasked with the tremendous responsibility of purchasing barrier protection for health care workers. However, the 2004 guide, published February 4, is missing some new information that would help purchasers select the best barrier protection and reduce the risk of latex allergy.

Recent advances in manufacturing technology allow glove manufacturers today to drastically reduce the amount of allergy causing protein in latex gloves. In fact, several independent hospital studies in U.S., Canada and Europe have show that these new gloves not only vastly reduce the incidence of latex allergy, but they allow many latex sensitive individuals donning synthetic gloves to work along side co-workers wearing low-protein latex gloves and suffer no ill effects.

The availability of this new generation of latex gloves means that health care workers do not have to sacrifice the proven barrier protection of latex gloves. The unique properties of the natural rubber polymer in latex gloves provide highly effective barrier protection for healthcare workers and their patients against transmission of infectious diseases. In addition, the polymer offers many superior glove characteristics such as comfort, fit, tactile sensitivity and high resistance to puncture and tear, qualities that many synthetic glove manufacturers are attempting to achieve.

To assist users in identifying the improved latex gloves, Malaysia has developed the Standard Malaysian Glove Program which certifies all high quality latex examination gloves which are low protein, low powder or powder-free that meet stringent specifications required by the SMG standard. I would also like to point out that HPN has erroneously included the SMG certified gloves in the 2004 Glove Guide for surgical gloves. Please note that the SMG certification currently only applies to latex examination gloves. Kindly notify your readers of this error. (note the revised chart is on the website).

Furthermore, not all synthetic gloves provide effective barrier properties as latex. For example, the widely used vinyl (PVC) gloves have been shown consistently by many studies to have inferior barrier performance, especially during use, with leakage rates of vinyl gloves many times higher than latex gloves.

It is true that latex allergic individuals should not use latex gloves, but they should have access to the most effective barrier protection available to them. Although other synthetic gloves like nitrile may be more expensive than vinyl, they offer a more appropriate choice.

Sincerely, -Dr Esah Yip, Director Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council 3516 International Court N.W. Washington DC 20008