Good news first: the development of allergies due to wearing examination gloves is no longer as acute as it was 20 years ago. However, there is still a need for action on the part of the manufacturers of protective gloves to solve the allergy problem in principle. This is also shown by a new, innovative examination glove from Semperit: the Semperguard GREEN GLOVE.
Allergies as an occupational disease
About 20% of Germans unfortunately suffer from one or more allergic diseases. Many of them are work-related and are therefore also recognised as occupational diseases under certain conditions. But how exactly do allergies develop? Allergies arise due to a defensive reaction of the human immune system to certain (usually harmless) environmental substances. The body reacts hypersensitively, for example when skin comes into contact with a certain substance. In people who work with examination gloves, there are mainly two types of substance-induced skin allergies, on the one hand those based on natural latex and on the other hand those based on vulcanization accelerators.
Triggers of allergies
As an isolated polymer substance, natural latex itself is not allergenic. However, natural latex contains certain proteins (natural accompanying substances) that can trigger an allergy and thus an overreaction of the body. The allergy-triggering effect is additionally intensified in examination gloves by the powder in the glove. Therefore, powdered gloves are now usually not used, or (compared to the past) may even be banned. The substances used for polymerization/crosslinking can also cause allergies. Vulcanization accelerator be. Vulcanization accelerators are additives that are used to cross-link the "milky" natural latex and quickly bring it into a polymeric state that is suitable for practical use. There are many vulcanization accelerators, chemists distinguish between thiurams, mercaptopobenzothiazoles and dithiocarbamates, among others. All these substances, although only used in very low concentrations, can potentially cause allergies. Vulcanization accelerators are not only used for the production of natural rubber, but also for the polymerization of synthetic latex products (e.g. nitrile rubber). An allergy can occur as an immediate type I allergy (possibly after seconds) or as a type IV allergy only days after contact.
Examination gloves with reduced allergy potential
The above is not new and glove manufacturers have been trying to find solutions to the challenge for a long time. For example, some examination gloves are provided with a polymer protective layer (IC = inner coating) on the inside. In addition, the disposable gloves are washed to remove the allergenic proteins, which drastically reduces the allergenic potential. A classic here is the glove Semperguard Latex IC . Many of the allergy problems that have existed for years are no longer as serious as they used to be due to the described product changes and new developments for practice, but they have not yet been completely eliminated. Now, the use of a different polymerization process instead of classic vulcanization opens up a drastic, further improvement.
Compatible examination glove
This innovative manufacturing process is a so-called ionic crosslinking, which works completely accelerator- and sulfur-free. The use of the process enables the production of examination and surgical gloves without allergenic potential. One example of this is the "Semperguard GREEN GLOVE" made of accelerator-free nitrile from the manufacturer Semperit. Especially when gloves have to be worn for a longer period of time (e.g. surgical gloves), the advantages have a particularly positive effect.
"That's why we use nitrile as a raw material, which, unlike natural latex, does not contain any allergy-causing proteins. And we use another method to make the nitrile latex film, as well as a different cross-linking process. This allows us to dispense with accelerators and reduce heating and cooling steps. This, in turn, saves both energy and water." Lean Seey Tan, Head of R&D Asia Semperit
Keep your eyes open when choosing examination gloves
When choosing examination gloves, the protection professionals recommend always paying close attention to the possible allergens they contain. On gloves that contain latex, this is always clearly marked. To ensure that you use the right glove for your field of work, you should seek advice from a specialist dealer, especially if you have a skin allergy. This can provide information about the ingredients and make a suitable recommendation. The best recommendation is, of course, to avoid an allergy in the first place. The development of a latex allergy can be prevented if, for example, only examination gloves without natural latex and without powder are worn. If nitrile or vinyl gloves are worn and the hands are consistently cared for, a latex allergy cannot develop in the first place.