Medical gloves

Before 1890s', doctors did not wear gloves. In fact, hands were cleaned only after surgery and not before. This was to remove the resultant messy blood. William Stewart Halsted (1852-1922) was the first surgeon-in- chief of the Johns Hopkins Hospital (established in 1889) who started to don the first pair of surgical gloves. He also pioneered many surgical operations. It all started when Dr. Halsted, working with Goodyear Rubber Company, produced two pairs of rubber gloves to protect his scrub nurse (with whom he was in love) from mercuric chloride solution rather than concern over asepsis problem. However, coincidentally, the incidence of asepsis problem happened to decrease considerably.

Since then he started to popularize the wearing of rubber gloves during surgery in 1890s'. This is well before the advent of the latex technology in 1920s'. Dipping was invariably done by using rubber solution (i.e. masticated rubber dissolved in solvent such as naphtha)

In 1923, the first British Patent was filed for the manufacture of gloves along with other articles using dipping process based on ammonia preserved latex. The curing was done by dipping in cold dilute solution of sulphur monochloride (in Carbon disulphide). As we all know, this was replaced with hot vulcanisation with the incorporation of vulcanising agents. Actually,"vulcanisation" was discovered in 1800s' which laid the foundation for the subsequent growth of the modern rubber industry.

Today, natural rubber layex is the best choice of base polymer for the manufacturing of not only examination gloves and surgical gloves, but also other gloves such as household gloves and electrician gloves (i.e. lineman's gloves).
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.

Medical gloves are used when hands or nails may touch someone else’s body fluids (such as blood, respiratory secretions, vomit, urine or feces) or certain hazardous drugs.

Types of medical gloves used in patient care:
1) Surgical gloves
1.1) Sold as sterile products
1.2) Usually packaged in fitted and sized pairs

2) Examination gloves
2.1) Not usually sold as sterile products
2.2) Not usually designed to fit closely
2.3) Packaged in pairs or boxes of single gloves

3) Chemotherapy gloves
3.1) Sold as sterile or non-sterile products
3.2) Packaged in boxes of single gloves or fitted pairs
3.3) Contain special properties to protect the wearer from chemotherapy drugs

Note: Non-medical gloves, such as household and industrial gloves used for household cleaning or for fire or injury protection, are not regulated by FDA. They may or may not meet FDA requirements for use in patient care.

What to do before using medical gloves:
1) Hands must be washed before putting on sterile gloves.
2) Choose gloves that fit properly and comfortably during all patient care activities.
3) For people who are allergic to the natural rubber latex used in some medical gloves, choose gloves made from other synthetic materials, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or Nitrile. (FDA requires manufacturers to identify on the package by labeling the materials used to make the gloves)
4) Take note that some sharp objects can puncture medical gloves especially those made from PVC.
5) Always change gloves once they are torn or found to have holes.
Hands should be thoroughly washed again with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub after use.
6) Used gloves muse be discarded and not re-used again.
7) Do not share medical gloves with other users.