The relative merits of nitrile, latex and vinyl as a barrier to transmission of infectious agents, especially viruses, had been examined by studies. For being a successful barrier, a particular material must prevent penetration. Such as the passage of pathogens, through closures, permeable materials, seams, and pinholes or other faultiness in the barrier material. When penetration happens in a medical glove, it is through imperfection in the material, like pinholes, tears, etc. Other important factors in barrier efficiency contain the resistance of a glove material to mechanical stress. Resistance to chemical collapse by agents such as disinfectants and alcohol used to prepare and clean an operating room is also important. Glove quality is appraised in order to guarantee strength, durability, and reliability during clinical use.

Researchers made a lot of studies about gloves’ integrity. They have found that virus penetration happened in 5 – 10% of control gloves, whether latex or vinyl. Gloves were subjected to three different levels of use designed to imitate glove stresses during clinical patient care.

When vinyl and latex gloves were given needlestick punctures meant to serve as positive controls to measure virus leakage, an unexpected result occurred in this study. Visual and viral leaks is formed only in the vinyl gloves, and not in any of the latex gloves. The researchers ascribed this result to the elastic resealing property of latex.

Other studies have used dye exclusion to estimate glove barrier protection properties. In another study, vinyl and latex gloves were subjected to stresses designed to simulate 15 minutes of clinical activity in an intensive care unit. When tested for dye exclusion, testers found that a failure rate of 53% for vinyl gloves, compared to 3% for latex gloves.

Nitrile gloves are the most protective gloves when they compared with vinyl and latex gloves. Nitrile gloves are prefered by healthcare workers and patients more than other types of medical gloves because of their barrier protection properties.

1. Using a flexible tape measure.
2. Measure the circumference of your hand at it’s widest section. Take the measurement in inches.
3. Determine the following:
* If your measurement is between 7 and 8 inches, order “small”
8 and 9 inches, order “medium”
9 and 10 inches, order “large”
10 and 11 inches, order “extra large”

And, please note that if you are ordering synthetic or nitrile exam gloves, they tend to run small. You may consider sizing up, -especially- if your measurement is on the edge of a range.

The incidence of pre-existing pinholes for latex gloves was 0% for the non-sterile surgical latex glove type and 3% for the powdered latex examination glove type, with pinholes located on the thumb, middle finger and ring finger. Of the nitrile gloves evaluated, three types were assessed to have no pre-existing pinhole defects. One type had a 2% incidence of pre-existing pinhole defects — one pinhole located on the thumb region of the glove and one on the ring finger portion of the glove. The fifth nitrile glove type had one pre-existing pinhole defect located on the middle finger.

All glove types examined met the European Standard. There was no statistically prominent difference between glove types. Anyway, the nitrile gloves generally showed less pre-existing pinhole defects than the latex examination gloves.

This article reminds car painters to seriously think over the type of glove that they wear when working with strong solvents, such as car paint. For example, latex or vinyl gloves are not capable of providing a comfortable level of protection. They reduce too quickly after minimal exposure to chemicals like the ones found in paint.

The EPA article recommends nitrile gloves as a better alternative since they are much more long-lasting. But, the article also cautions that even nitrile gloves are improperly for tasks which require completes ubmersion of the gloves in strong solvents, such as methyl ethyl ketone. Methyl ethyl ketone will pass through the nitrile gloves at a rapid rate, causing them to last no longer than a few minutes.

In general, nitrile gloves are really one of the best disposable glove choices for the automotive painting industry. But, be careful to use them for appropriate tasks and, if in doubt, check with the manufacturer to clarify the gloves’ specifications.

These gloves are safe for picking fruits, processing meat, handling poultry, and all sorts of applications with uncooked and cooked food. It’s better to use gloves which has a lower pinhole level, rather than industrial grade or general-purpose glove, to minimize cross-contamination between workers and food for the beverage, food and restaurant industries.

Wearing gloves should not only prevent the worker’s hands from getting dirty when handling food, it should also prevent the workers. (Especially, those with open wounds or cuts in their hands or fingers, from contaminating the food.

When you are working with chemicals, there are several different types of protective gloves that you can use. These protective gloves may be made from rubber or vinyl. The several types of protective gloves that guard against blood and other bodily fluids are usually made from latex or nitrile. The gloves must be disposable, because they are changed between patients to prevent the transfer of blood borne pathogens. People can be allergic to latex. These people may prefer nitrile gloves. All varieties of these protective gloves are abrasion- and puncture- resistant.