Gloves health care workers

The upsurge of latex allergy is traced back to a GDC report published on August 21, 1987 that came to be known as universal precautions. It emphasized the need for all health care workers to routinely use appropriate barrier precautions, such as gloves, when contacting body fluids. New and inexperienced glove manufacturers entered the glove market and produced poorly compounded. 

Latex surgical gloves cause severe allergies for some people, especially health-care workers who must wear gloves for most of theirworking day. Latex gloves also deteriorate overtime or in contact with oil-based creams and ointments. 

Health care workers who come in contact with patients in whom anthrax is suspected should use universal precautions at all times, including the use of rubber gloves, disposal of sharps, and frequent hand washing. No human-to-human transmission of anthrax has been reported and respiratory isolation precautions are not needed. Patients with inhalational or cutaneous anthrax should be placed on contact isolation, due to the potential for contact with open wounds or wound drainage. 

The USA has disposed of stockpiles of sulfur mustard at sea. Fisherman or boaters who come across discarded canisters, leaky from sitting in salt water, unknowingly have become exposed. In treating these exposures, if the vesicant is pervasive, it is important to decontaminate in a prehospital setting, and have health care providers wear appropriate personal care protection. Latex gloves are not sufficient - butyl rubber is needed. Health care workers do not need to fear the patient s blisters, since these do not contain the vesicating agent. 

Use Health care workers gloves, drug sundries, dipped products, adhesives. 

Allergy to natural rubber latex, first reported in 1989 in the United States, is a common cause of occupational allergy for health care workers. Natural rubber is a processed plant product from the commercial rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis. Latex allergens are proteins found in both raw latex and the extracts used in finished rubber products. Latex gloves are the largest single source of exposure to the protein allergens. ... 

Nosocomial transmission refers to the spread of a disease within a health-care setting, such as a clinic or hospital. It occurs frequently during Ebola HF outbreaks. It includes both types of transmission described above. In African health-care facilities, patients are often cared for without the use of a mask, gown, or gloves. Exposure to the virus has occurred when health care workers treated individuals with Ebola HF without wearing these types of protective clothing. In addition, when needles or syringes are used, they may not be of the disposable type, or may not... 

A consumer advo- cacy group is petitioning the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban the use of medical latex gloves and gloves that have cornstarch powder on them, charging that they pose a serious threat to patients and health care workers. 

According to Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, health care workers run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions when they either wear latex gloves or inhale cornstarch powder bound to latex proteins that has been released from latex gloves worn by others. 

By way of example, the criteria for job-fitness evaluation of health care workers afflicted with glove-related diseases are reported in the following paragraph. In the context of this example, the procedures to be followed in the case of IgE-mediated sensitisations have been described. 

An Example of Job-Fitness Evaluation Criteria Glove-Induced Dermatitis in Health Care Workers... 

The examples of job-fitness evaluation criteria are practical suggestions (not definitive ones, because of the evolving nature of the topic) to be adapted to the different possible work situations. They have been taken from a consensus document prepared by the Italian Society of Preventive Medicine for Health Care Workers on Allergic and irritant glove-related diseases in health care workers and their prevention (Alessio et al. 1997). 

For instance, the aim of the educational programme on glove-related diseases in health care workers was to inform the workers about ... 

The types of gloves used by health care workers... 

Crippa M, Pasolini G (1997) Allergic reactions due to glove-lubricant powder in health-care workers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 70 399-402... 

Allergy to natural rubber latex (NRL) is a well-recognised health problem, especially among health care workers and patients with spina bifida. In order to investigate the in vivo reactivity of latex in health care workers and patients with spina bifida, extracts of internal and external surfaces of latex gloves and specific extracts, enriched in major allergens for these risk groups, were examined. 

Latex gloves extracts enriched in the hydrophobic allergens that are most often seen in patients with spina bifida were obtained by selective precipitation, whereas HIC produced extracts enriched in the hydrophilic allergens commonly foxmd in health care workers. The health care workers had positive SPTs to glove extracts from internal surfaces and to the hydrophilic allergen-enriched extracts. 

Peixinho CM, Tavares-Ratado P, Gabriel MF, Romeira AM, Lozoya-lbanez C, Taborda-Tarata L, et al. Different in vivo reactivity profile in health care workers and patients with spina-bifida to internal and external latex glove surface-derived allergen extracts. Br J Dermatol 2012 166(3) 518-24. 

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