Did you know that disposable gloves originated in a love story?
A head nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, USA, named Caroline Hampton developed eczema on her hands in
1889 due to contact with mercury chloride during asepsis. This fact made her fiancé, the chief of surgery of the
hospital, Dr. William S. Halsted, make a mold of Carolina's hands with the objective of sending it to the Goodyear
Rubber Company to make plastic gloves.
They were resistant to heat and the chemicals that had caused the reaction.
Five years later and after the good result of the gloves, in 1894 the use of sterilized medical gloves was
incorporated in the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
In 1991, Best Manufacturing (acquired by SHOWA in 2007) was the first to bring out the
first disposable nitrile glove to help those with both known and unknown latex allergies.
Nitrile, the alternative to latex and vinyl
Disposable gloves are usually made of vinyl, latex, nitrile or polyethylene, among others. To make them easier to put
on, powder (generally made up of corn starch) is used as a lubricant. However, it has been shown to cause skin
irritation or allergies after long exposure.
For instance, in the health-care sector the most usual disposable gloves are latex gloves due to their great
flexibility in conditions of thermal hypersensitivity. However, numerous cases of allergy were detected among
professionals. In order to avoid this, and other allergic reactions due to latex, powder-free nitrile gloves became
the perfect alternative due to their synthetic composition that makes them more resistant without reducing
sensitivity.
Vinyl gloves were also an alternative in the industry sector as they did not produce allergies, but the big problem
began to arrive when they realized they were permeable (not waterproof) and therefore all types of virus and
bacteria would penetrate the glove. This leads to the fact that they do not comply with most food contact
regulations.
Due to all this, a large part of the industry and health sector switched to the use of disposable nitrile gloves,
made of nitrile-butadiene. A synthetic rubber that has no latex protein content. They are just as flexible as latex
ones, but without the consequences of possible allergic reactions, in addition to being much more resistant. Within
the range of nitrile there are different thicknesses-groups that make for different qualities. The weight could
start from 3 grams but the recommended starting point is 3.5 grams to 5 grams. Depending on the quality of the glove
we can get the food-virus-chemical certifications.
Great quality, great resistance
As we mentioned before, nitrile has a high resistance to friction, wear and tear and perforation.
However, depending on the thickness of the gloves, we can find different qualities on the market.
In Reysan you will find a wide range of disposable gloves, but we would like to
highlight the Showa 6110, Showa 7500.
These models are certified for use with food, viruses and chemicals. They are 0.10 mm thick and weigh 5 grams, so
they last longer and prevent fragments from falling into the product.
We also want to highlight the Showa
7502.
It has a thickness of 0.06mm and weight of 3.5 grams, but despite having this weight as many other models on the
market this model offers a superior quality because they are manufactured with top quality nitrile.
In addition, it is important to note that these three models Showa 6110, Showa 7500 and Showa 7502 are
Biodegradable, has,
Eco Best Technology ® (EBT) of SHOWA. Same glove and performance, but better for the planet.
Showa launched the first biodegradable single-use glove in 2012, as a first step towards sustainability, a way of
reducing the impact that gloves have on the environment. And gradually EBT is expanding into more and more gloves,
so we can meet today's demand without compromising tomorrow.
Important points for choosing disposable nitrile gloves:
- Weight from 3.5 grams to 5 grams.
- Quality of the nitrile used to manufacture it.
- The certifications it complies with.
- Expiration date.