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When choosing the best supplies for your healthcare organization, hospital, or related medical facility, priority on quality can sometimes get overshadowed by pricing. Protected gloves are everyday items that medical professionals rely on to protect patients and their hands from exposure. Latex and vinyl options are standard supply requests that nearly every industry requires, but while reliable, they may not be the best option for their intended use.
Nitrile gloves are an alternative that is increasing in popularity because of the countless applicable uses they are suited for. Healthcare providers that have not made the switch from vinyl and latex to nitrile would do well to consider the following five uses for this glove type:
1. Provide an Allergy-Free PPE Option for Healthcare Workers and Patients
A challenge found in many healthcare settings is preventing allergic reactions to latex. While studies have shown that only 4% of the global population suffers from latex-based allergies, sensitivity to these products after repeated use is also a risk. This can be seen in medical environments where providers and their staff routinely wear gloves made of this material. Contact dermatitis can develop due to repeated exposure to the powder in these products, causing an itchy, painful red rash to break out on the wrists, fingers, palms, and top of hands.
Nitrile-based gloves are an ideal solution to avoid allergic anaphylactic shock responses and the development of skin sensitivities to latex. PPE comprised of nitrile is one of the top hypoallergenic options on the market and is powder-free.
2. Work Environments with Chemical Exposure Risks
When it comes to chemical resistance, latex and vinyl provide some level of breakthrough protection against specific contaminants and substances. However, gloves made up of these materials tend to wear down sooner than their nitrile counterpart. Typically, nitrile gloves provide wearers a higher durability and chemical resistance because of their synthetic rubber material. Though these aren’t impermeable, they give the wearer more time to remove and dispose of their gloves after exposure to dangerous chemicals. This has made nitrile gloves a popular PPE choice for healthcare workers and the medical industry as a whole.
3. Procedures Requiring Tactile Sensitivity
Healthcare organizations, including medical manufacturers, regularly need the ability to maintain high tactile sensation and control. The design and engineering of nitrile gloves enhance the sensitivity required to perform manipulations more securely compared to latex due to the nature of the synthetic rubber in this product. This means less slippage, safer handling, and improved tensile sensation typically lost when wearing latex or vinyl gloves.
4. Perform Tasks with Minimal Risk of Tears and Punctures
Protective gloves are essential in the healthcare industry so that manufacturers, providers, and patients minimize exposure to dangerous bacteria and hazardous chemicals. This form of PPE also needs to be durable because if the surface becomes compromised by perforations or tears, the wearer is at risk of sustaining an injury, contracting an illness, or contaminating a product or procedure. Nitrile, when compared to latex, has a stronger surface integrity and durability because of the resistant properties of the synthetic rubber used in their manufacture, making them the safer choice for the wearer.
5. A Glove Solution with Multiple Applications
When discussing the many ways to use nitrile gloves, healthcare organizations and related industries often rely on these as a multi-purpose solution for a wide range of tasks. While there are different grades of nitrile to choose from, choosing a single solution that can handle a broad range of risks is ideal. Whether for surgical teams or maintaining clean environments within research and development facilities, nitrile gloves meet an extensive list of safety requirements more reliably than those constructed of latex or vinyl.
View our nitrile gloves here: https://www.j2medicalsupply.com/product-category/nitrile-vinyl-gloves/
