It is seen in recent years an increasing incidence of allergic reactions among health care workers to latex medical gloves. There are several groups of people who are at increased risk for latex allergy. A latex glove is made up of natural latex, cornstarch powder applied on the glove and numerous chemicals. The human immune system sometimes responds to these foreign matter.
Some major skin reactions:
Irritant dermatitis: This type of skin irritation does not involve the body’s immune response. Some causes for this irritation are frequent hand washing and inadequate drying, aggressive scrubbing and use of detergents, mechanical abrasive effect of glove powder, climatic irritation and emotional stress.
Type IV allergy (Delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity): This is a skin reaction caused due to the chemicals used in latex glove production and the reaction is typically seen 6-48 hours after contact. The reaction limited to the skin that has contacted the glove.
Type I allergy (Immediate reaction): These are kind of systemic allergic reactions which are caused by circulating IgE antibodies to the proteins in natural latex. Symptoms such as hives, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, anaphylaxis and hypotension occur soon after exposure to latex, within 30 minutes.
Another major factor for allergy is due to the cornstarch powder used in latex gloves. Cornstarch powder binds the latex protein in the surgical glove, as a result of which the antigen reaches both the wearer’s skin more easily (when the hand becomes moist during surgery) and the patient’s skin. Also, when the surgeon both dons and removes the glove, cornstarch powder is released into the air, and this itself cause irritation via inhalation.
It is also important to note that not all latex gloves are created equal. There are significant differences between manufacturers and product lines in the amount of free latex protein and chemicals used in the production of gloves. Different brands of gloves different rates of reaction.
Is latex glove a wrong choice: glove characteristics to look for!
There are several important factors to consider which are as follows :
- First, gloves provide barrier protection both for the health care worker and the patient. It helps to guard against contact with blood, other body fluids, and microorganisms. Latex has been in use for many years, and has proven barrier protective capability. The barrier effectiveness of latex glove is much more than synthetic rubber gloves.
- Second, a glove should give comfort. One should be able to done it easily, and then be able to perform surgery with the feeling that as if you were not even wearing a glove at all. Again, for this, latex is better, the synthetic rubber is stiffer than latex, and less comfortable to wear.
- Third, cost is also an important factor. Latex gloves are usually less expensive than synthetic rubber gloves.
So latex as a material has substantial benefits for surgical gloves.
Conclusion
It is thus evident that we need gloves which can provide excellent barrier protection, surgeon comfort, and at an acceptable cost. The ideal glove, if it is latex, should be powder free, should be very low in extractable latex protein, and should have the smallest concentration and the fewest number of residual chemicals from manufacture.