Just a glove?

Abstract

Surgical gloves were introduced in the early years of this century, initially to protect nurses' and surgeons' hands from the strong antiseptic chemicals used during surgery. William Stewart Halstead is generally credited with introducing gloves to protect his scrub nurse (who later became his wife) from the carbolic acid in which the instruments were immersed. They soon became an essential requirement for asepsis and today, along with procedure gloves, are seen to protect both staff and patients from blood borne infections such as Hepatitis B and HIV. But, how many of us question the dangers posed to patients and staff through gloves? Most of us have read about the dangers of starch, but gloves may pose other significant risks to all who come into contact with them. 'With an ever increasing number of workers who don gloves as a means of personal protection, increased incidents of dermatitis, anaphylactic reactions, and respiratory problems from airborne antigens from glove powders have raised new concerns about allergies.'