Medical glove

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dentist wearing nitrile gloves.

Medical gloves are disposable gloves used during medical examinations and procedures that help
prevent contamination between caregivers and patients. [1]Medical gloves are made of different
polymers including latex, nitrile rubber, vinyland neoprene; they come unpowdered, or powdered
with cornstarch to lubricate the gloves, making them easier to put on the hands. [2] Cornstarch
replaced tissue-irritating Lycopodium powder and talc, but since even cornstarch can impede healing
if it gets into tissues (as during surgery), unpowdered gloves are being used more often during
surgery and other sensitive procedures. Special manufacturing processes are used to compensate
for the lack of powder. There are two main types of gloves: exam and surgical. Surgical gloves have
more precise sizing with a better precision and sensitivity and are made to a higher standard. Exam
gloves are available as either sterile or non-sterile, while surgical gloves are generally sterile. [3]

History[edit]
In 1890 William Stewart Halsted was the first to use sterilized medical gloves when he was at Johns
Hopkins University.[4][5]With the publication of germ theory Halsted was using carbolic acid,
introduced by Joseph Lister, to sterilize his hands and his nurse's hands. She was sensitive to the
chemical, and it was damaging the skin on her hands; so he asked theGoodyear Tire and Rubber
Company if they could make a glove of rubber that could be dipped in carbolic acid.
Glove materials

Latex
Neoprene

The first disposable latex medical gloves were manufactured in 1964 by Ansell. They based the
production on the technique for making condoms. [6] These gloves have a range of clinical uses
ranging from dealing with human excrement to dental applications.
Criminals have also been known to wear these gloves during the commission of their crimes. These
gloves are often chosen because their thinness and tight fit allow for dexterity. However because of
the thinness of these gloves, fingerprints may actually pass through the material asglove prints, thus
transferring the wearer's prints onto whatever surface is touched or handled. [7][8]
The participants of the Watergate burglaries infamously did so wearing rubber surgical gloves in an
effort to hide their fingerprints. [9]

Alternatives to latex[edit]
Main article: Latex allergy
Due to the increasing rate of latex allergy among health professionals, and in the general population,
gloves made of non-latex materials such as vinyl, nitrile rubber, or neoprene have become widely
used. Chemical processes may be employed to reduce the amount of antigenic
protein in Hevea latex, resulting in alternative natural-rubber-based materials such Vytex Natural
Rubber Latex. However, non-latex gloves have not yet replaced latex gloves in surgical procedures,
as gloves made of alternative materials generally do not fully match the fine control or greater
sensitivity to touch available with latex surgical gloves. (High-grade isoprene gloves are the only
exception to this rule, as they have the same chemical structure as natural latex rubber. However,
fully artificial polyisoprene—rather than "hypoallergenic" cleaned natural latex rubber [10]—is also the
most expensive natural latex substitute available. [11]) Other high-grade non-latex gloves, such as
nitrile gloves, can cost over twice the price of their latex counterparts, a fact that has often prevented
switching to these alternative materials in cost-sensitive environments, such as many hospitals. [12]
Powder-free medical gloves are used in medical cleanroom environments, where the need for
cleanliness is often similar to that in a sensitive medical environment. [citation needed]

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ "Medical Gloves and Gowns". FDA. Retrieved 2010-03-
10. "Medical gloves are disposable gloves used during medical
procedures. Medical gloves help prevent contamination between
caregivers and patients. Some are designed to prevent contact
with certain chemotherapy drugs. Medical gloves include
examination gloves, surgical gloves, and medical gloves for
handling chemotherapy agents (chemotherapy gloves). These
gloves are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
FDA makes sure that manufacturers of these devices meet
performance criteria such as leak resistance, tear resistance, etc."
2. Jump up^ "Glove manufacturing". Ansell.eu. Retrieved 2012-12-
14.
 3. Jump up^ "Personal Protective Equipment FAQ". Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 2013-06-08.

4. Jump up^ "Hopkins Ceases Use Of Latex Gloves During

Surgery". WJZ-TV. January 15, 2008. Retrieved 2010-03-03. "A
surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital is credited with being the first to
introduce the rubber surgical glove back in 1894."

5. Jump up^ "Rubber Gloves". Johns Hopkins Hospital. January 14,

2008. Retrieved 2010-03-03. "William Stewart Halsted, The Johns
Hopkins Hospital’s first surgeon in chief, is credited as the first to
develop and introduce rubber surgical gloves in the United States.
That was in 1894, five years after the institution opened."

6. Jump up^ "100 Years of Australian Innovation - latex gloves".

Retrieved 2010-03-07. "In 1945, Ansell designed and built the first
automatic dipping machine, which produced 300 dozen pairs of
synthetic gloves in eight hours. Ansell introduced disposable
surgical gloves in 1964, which won the company an Export Award
in 1967. International expansion over the next two decades saw
Ansell become the world's largest producer of latex gloves for
household and medical us

Go