Latex Gloves And The Skin And Nail Problems They Can Cause

Latex Gloves Are There To Protect Us 𑁋 But Can They Cause A Problem Themselves?

Prolonged or daily use of latex gloves can cause various problems with skin and nails, especially to cancer patients’ sensitive skin.

Corona Is Making People Wear Latex Gloves More Often

In these times of corona-related frenzy, we certainly advise for caution and safety. In our last blog, we talked a bit about how this disease could affect cancer patients, especially those undergoing some sort of cancer treatment, whether it’s radiation or chemotherapy.

But, staying safe doesn’t have to mean not looking and feeling good about ourselves. It turns out, there are things to be aware of if we, for example, need to wear latex gloves all the time. 

Many people can’t stay at home, ( for example, health-care workers ) they need to go out and work, maybe because their job is deemed essential, or they can’t continue working from home. The trouble with this is, that many socially essential jobs involve working closely with other people, sometimes dozens of them a day. 

The most common solution for self-protection in these cases is wearing protective masks and latex gloves. But, prolonged contact with materials of latex gloves can cause various problems to the skin and nails, especially in cancer patients, whose skin and nails are more sensitive than usual. 

In this blog, H&B discusses some of the problems prolonged contact with latex can cause, and what can we do to prevent and reduce them.

Types Of Disposable Medical Gloves

The two foremost types of disposable medical gloves are exam and surgical – each with a particular function.  Medical gloves are further characterized by their material – nitrile, latex, and vinyl. They are also accessible as powdered, non-powdered, sterile, nonsterile, textured, coated, and so on. We will talk about latex gloves mostly because they are the most often used ones. 

 Shelf Life Of Latex Gloves

One of the neglected issues with latex gloves is their shelf-life. Latex gloves do not last forever. After a while, they start releasing various chemicals. Some of those chemicals can cause allergies to sensitive people. The time it takes for this to happen depends on many things, such as the material the gloves are made off, the storage conditions, etc. Many times when you buy disposable gloves in bulk for your office or workplace, the gloves can stay in the storage room for a while. 

While an exact shelf life period is conditioned by what specific material the gloves are made of and storage facilities, a general rule of thumb is three years for disposable natural latex gloves and up to five years for disposable nitrile gloves.

While most manufacturers won’t guarantee it, many disposable nitrile gloves have been known to last for years in storage without any visible or notable decline in quality. However, these shelf lives do not apply to gloves that are detached from the original packaging or have been opened to moisture.

If you pull some gloves off the shelf and they look relatively good, meaning, they can be stretched without visible surface cracks and can be worn without splitting or shredding, then they are probably still safe to use and will provide the proper level of protection that you need. Gloves that are unsafe to use will be pretty apparent. They will have become quite brittle, tearing very easily and will have a stiff exterior that cracks easily when stretched.

Allergic Reactions To Latex

Contact dermatitis and sensitization to latex following prolonged exposure are the two most common latex-allergy reactions. Symptoms can range from itchiness and redness to respiratory distress and even fatal anaphylaxis. But this is rare. 

More than 100,000 people in the United States are at risk, most of whom work in the health-care field and contact latex on a daily basis. It is considered that some 15 percent of them risk developing latex allergies, both by breathing in the particles from the gloves that carry latex proteins in the air and by wearing latex gloves.

 Production Of Natural Rubber Latex   

Natural rubber latex comes from the sap of the rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis, found in Africa and Southeast Asia. Allergic reactions to products made with latex develop in persons who become allergic (or sensitized) to proteins contained in natural rubber latex. Natural rubber latex should not be mistaken with synthetic rubber made from chemicals. Synthetic rubber products, including “latex” house paints, are not made with natural latex and can’t trigger allergic reactions in people who are allergic to products made with natural rubber latex.

Latex allergy is a reaction to certain proteins found in natural rubber latex, a product made from the rubber tree. If you have a latex allergy, your body mistakes latex for a harmful substance.

Latex allergy may cause itchy skin and hives. Understanding latex allergy and knowing common sources of latex can help you prevent allergic reactions. H&B’s Dr. Singhal recommends using Polybalm, the first and only scientifically designed natural nail remedy on the market. It’s has been tested in a double-blind, government-backed randomized controlled trial (RCT), to prove Polybalms efficiency. Polybalm can help reduce some of the problems caused by prolonged exposure to latex.