Banning Latex

[Richard B the EMT]

"Feeling" thru gloves, latex or nitrile, is a learned skill. Ask your agency for the nitrile gloves, and learn how to use them.

If the agency refuses to supply them, purchase your own, and declare them as "cost of doing buisiness" to the Internal Revenue Service.

[Sir Hunter~Royal Medic]

I like the nitrile gloves better just personal pref.

[paramedicmike]

There's a plant along the US/Mexico border that produces a latex that is completely hypo-allergenic. I think it's called guayule. The latex resulting from the harvest of this plant is completely and totally hypoallergenic. The hard part, however, is harvesting and processing the product. For some reason that escapes me at the moment it's a little more expensive to make the end product.

Last I read people were working on this project simply due to the expanding number of latex allergic people out there.

I have to agree with Rid, too, in that you do get a better feel with latex. The stretch associated with latex also allows for a better fit. With the nitrile you almost need to have custom gloves made just to ensure they fit.

Don't get me wrong. I like the nitrile but there are a lot of advantages to the latex gloves. We carry both and I'll usually start with the nitrile gloves until I find out if the Pt is allergic or not.

-be safe.

[Guest]

Once again, I have to agree with Rid... *sigh*... Anyway, I don't think a ban is the answer, but a service must (read should) provide non-latex options... not only for us, but also for our patients...

Also, please remember there IS a difference between Latex Allergies (Anaphylactic Reactions) and Sensitivity.. many people develop a sensitivity but never an allergy... Just a thought.

[Guest]

Once again Rid is right :shock:, In our service the latex gloves aren't banned, however MOST EMT's and Medics I have worked with in my short career wear the nitrile gloves.

• Also, we usually wear two pair so if we need to change gloves, all one has to do is pull the first pair off. Nasty things to put on when your hands are sweaty.

[Nate]

We have the nitrile gloves (purple) and some kind of blue gloves that aren't vinyl or plastic...don't really know what they are. (I'll look when I'm there again.)

To be honest, I don't really care what kind of gloves they give me, as long as they aren't the lunch lady gloves, the el cheapo's, or the to small.

I don't support the ban of latex, here is the reason. I think the diamond grip latex gloves are the best gloves I've ever used. They don't rip, easy to get on, and fit really well. Plus, I have a grip when I go to grab something when the glove is wet. I hate wearing nitrile gloves in the rain or around wet surfaces.

Also, I use latex tourniquets because I think they wrap tighter and seem to hold up better.

Still, I ask if the patient is allergic to anything, including latex...but it has its good points. Plus, they are cheaper then nitrile glvoes, and I'd rather have better drugs or better equipment then to simply have non-latex gloves.

Just my two cents.

[island emt]

in our state all services are mandated latex free for every ambulance. latex allergies and sensitivities are on the rise. the longer the exposure the greater the risk of developing a problem exposure . I know several medical professionals doctors, rn's , dental techs and EMS folk who cannot work in an environment where latex has been used due to airborne particles remaining behind. if you were one of these folks you might think differently about using latex. most of them have developed their sensitivity due to prolonged exposure on the job.

[medstudent30]

Just outta curiosity.........what do ya all do when ya gotta patient with history of Spina Bifida...........with whom are suspected of having an allergy to latex??????? Do ya use gloves with latex or do ya go BSI-free??????????

[Nate]

Just outta curiosity.........what do ya all do when ya gotta patient with history of Spina Bifida...........with whom are suspected of having an allergy to latex??????? Do ya use gloves with latex or do ya go BSI-free??????????

It really depends on what is wrong with the patient. Is it complications with the Spina Bifida, or is it a suspected c-spine compromise secondary to MVA?

This is how I believe and feel. I try to stay as glove free as the situation permits, provided I have no cuts hands, and there is no open sores or blood I see on their hands. When I do where gloves, if they ask about them, I tell them I'm not only protecting myself, but I'm protecting them from any colds or germs I might have. But, I feel that I can get more trust if I shake the hand of a man c/o CP with no gloves, then if I act like they are going to kill me if I touch them.

So if there was no blood, no body fluids, I would go glove free out of respect to the patient with Sinpa Bifida; however if there was blood, I would try to minimize the level of touching to reduce exposure.

There is the gray area...on one side we don't want to risk ourselves, on the other...we don't want to induce any harm to our patient.

[medstudent30]

Well everyone is entitled to their opinion. I happen to have a latex 'sensitivty' so therefore I choose to wear the Nitrile gloves. But by the same token......I am not going without BSI. That is the choice I choose to make. But if I encounter a patient that looks at me funny for having BSI on I make it clear to them that it is for their protection as well as mine. How do you explain to a person that needs full C-Spine precautions when you go to collar them and backboard them??? You tell them its for PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES so that they give you permission to do so. So why not tell that to someone who is C/O CP or SOB? Or even on a basic transfer with a patient? What do ya do with someone who has MRSA of a wound, and when ya got the transfer dispatch did not inform you of the MRSA, (knowing you have a latex 'sensitivity') and you get to the floor and they do not have any latex free gloves? Should you go without BSI and take that risk to yourself and family? Or should you take a pair of gloves with ya?