Glove powder in the hospital environment -- consequences for healthcare workers

Exposure to starch powder from natural rubber latex medical gloves can cause allergy symptoms among healthcare employees and impair working conditions, due to the absorption of latex protein antigens onto the starch powder on the gloves. To evaluate and take care of this problem at Stockholm Söder Hospital we carried out this study.

A questionnaire was distributed to all employees working within the medical centre. The procedure was repeated after the centre had been changed to a powder-free working environment. The focus of the questions was to determine the extent of symptoms that could be associated with glove powder or latex proteins.

Responses were compared before and 8 months after a new powder-free glove policy was fully implemented. The study pointed out that a relatively high percentage of the hospital workers were suffering from glove-related symptoms. A significant reduction of itching on the hands, hand eczema and upper respiratory-tract disorders was found after the change to a powder-free environment.

It is not acceptable to use powdered medical gloves within health care. In spite of the risk of allergy and impairment of the working environment from powdered gloves, there is still only a minority of hospitals working according to a strict general powder-free policy. This study has pointed out that the reduced cost resulting from reduced absence through sickness further adds an argument for omitting glove powder and can justify the higher cost of using powder-free medical gloves.