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inflammation in lesions on the wearer’s hands and can irritate wounds in the patient. Latex rubber ingredients have
been identified as contributing to various degrees of dermatitis, as well as local and systemic allergic reactions. 39 Both
talc and starch are irritants when inhaled and can cause asthmatic exacerbations in susceptible individuals. 28,36,40 The
talc and starch will absorb latex proteins, become airborne and get inhaled by susceptible individuals. This can cause
life-threatening conditions to breathing-compromised people (e.g., asthmatics). The incidence of latex sensitivity has
increased from 3 percent to 6 percent in the general population since 1985 concurrent with widespread latex glove use.
Some researchers consider this to be an epidemic in itself. The incidence of latex sensitivity in the dental community
has soared from 3 percent to more than 22 percent. 47 This appears to be the direct result of wearing latex gloves and exposing
skin and mucosa to the allergenic protein, as this problem did not
arise until gloves became mandated. This is a dangerous change of events:
Many deaths and thousands of serious reactions have been reported due
to the increased latex exposure. 47 Another deception dentists and patients
face is that gloves not only won’t be of much help in preventing disease,
but they can cause considerable morbidity and mortality for which our
patients and staff are seldom warned. This situation wastes money, endangers
lives and discredits the dental profession.
Starch is easily broken down into simple sugars that provide an ideal
growth medium for microbes and contribute to bacterial and fungal
growth on the warm hands of a glove wearer. This increase in resident
and “leaked” microbial growth presents a danger to both the patient and
the operator. 28,32 The components of latex (and other) gloves have been
implicated as contamination hazards that may contribute to urticaria, nonhealing
wounds, asthma, facial edema and toxic shock in health care
workers. 30,38,41 Forty of the 50 dentists (80 percent) in a Lake County, Ill.,
study wore gloves at least 85 percent of the time. 21 Twenty-five (50 percent)
of these dentists reported hand lesions concurrent with the wearing
of gloves. Three of the remaining 10 dentists, who intermittently wore
gloves, also reported hand lesions. All but one of these dentists attributed
the lesions to the wearing of gloves. 18 Tightly fitting gloves keep
contamination close to the wearer’s skin surface. This increased contact
encourages growth and spread of pathogens and increases the likelihood
of allergies and/or reactions.
Nonsterile gloves are not only contaminated during manufacture but are also quickly contaminated by the natural
flora of the hands. To illustrate, this author did an experiment. Thirty-one unused, multibrand, nonsterile gloves were
swabbed with sterile saline/cotton swabs and individually plated on typto-soy media. Cultures were incubated for 24
hours. Six (19 percent) of these gloves were contaminated with gram-positive cocci, spore formers and fungi. There are
numerous other studies that repeat these findings. 16,23,24,26,29
Considering that these microorganisms are augmented with a starch growth media, warmth and moisture from the
wearer’s hands, the potential for increased contamination and skin breakdown of both the wearer and the patient is
greatly increased. This is why the CDC recommends that dental health care workers who have exudative lesions or
weeping dermatitis, particularly on the hands, should refrain from all direct patient care and from handling dental patient
care equipment. 1 Because most dentists and their staff have microbreaks and other skin lesions as described above,
obeying this order would essentially furlough 20 percent of the nation’s dental staff at any one time.
Allergy Hazards of Latex Gloves
“This is with the
consideration that most
latex glove products are
manufactured
and hand-packed in
Third World countries,
where facilities are hygieneprimitive
and the bathroom
hygiene of many latex
workers consists of using
the left hand as toilet paper.”
Urticaria is a common complaint associated with the use of gloves. 36,39 In a Lake County, Ill., study, half of the glove
wearers experienced dermatitis. 18 Increased IgE reactivity of wearers and patients has resulted in thousands of lifethreatening
allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis and asthma, to latex glove materials. 39,40,41 Additional allergic problems
have resulted from the starch or talc used inside the gloves. 36 Contact with latex gloves by sensitized individuals
has been life-threatening, as mentioned above. 39,40,41
Between 1988 and 1992, the FDA received reports of more than 1,100 life-threatening systemic and 15 fatal reactions to
latex. In recent years, as the population continues to be sensitized to latex (e.g., rubbing a gloved finger along the oral
The Deceptions of Rubber Gloves59