Being fussy

[karen2205]

Having had to do some first aid whilst wearing horrible powdered gloves, I had work order some non-powdered ones. [both types are vinal rather than latex to avoid potential allergies - that's not a problem, (except that I'm not willing to use latex gloves for that reason)]

I'm sitting here wearing a pair of our new gloves and they more or less fit and I can type quite happily while wearing them, but they're not comfortable and I'd have difficulty doing jobs like opening dressing packs or pealing the back off a plaster while wearing them. I have big hands and short fingers, so a bigger sized glove would mean even more unfilled glove at my finger tips.

Does anyone have any recommendations for good/nice gloves for doing first aid? Mustn't be latex or powdered. They don't need to be sterile.

Comments

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I can't help; I can't stand working in vinyl gloves, and so always use latex. I'd ask the Evil Twin, but he has a rubber fetish, and is likely to be equally unhelpful.

[karen2205]

I think a big part of my problem is that I'm so unused to working in gloves that they're all going to feel odd. I only wear gloves for first aid. [Cleaning doesn't count - I can do all the fiddly preparation stuff of opening bottles etc without gloves] The nitrile gloves I've got at home are better than the vinyl ones at work, but still not ideal. The top third of the fingers of these nitrile gloves are roughened a little to give better grip than the smoothness of the rest, which helps.

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Not being used to the things may well be part of the problem.

On the other hand nevboo recommends the purple vinyl gloves, but can't remember what they're marketed as.

[baratron.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, the problem with non-latex gloves is that they are much less stretchy than latex, so tend to come up big as a result. This will always feel like you are wearing supermarket carrier bags on your hands.

I wear thin blue nitrile gloves for decorating, and they are a lot nicer than the clear or purple vinyl/pvc gloves that Boots sell for first aid. However, they're still pretty baggy.

What you actually need is for gloves to become available in synthetic isoprene, like the new Durex Avanti condoms. This is the same polymer that's present in natural rubber, but made artifically so it does not contain any of the latex proteins. The new Durex Avanti condoms look and feel just like any other condom, unlike the old polyurethane ones that were baggy, and not terribly comfortable for either partner.

[karen2205]

*nods* - I imagine it'll happen eventually, as there must be companies making good non-latex gloves for surgeons who need to operate on people with latex allergies, but I don't think we've got a high enough level of demand yet.

I know genuine latex allergy is still relatively rare, but it's not something I'd want to come across while treating an already injured person (and invariably a quite seriously injured person unable to shout 'I'm allergic to latex) nor do I want to risk sensitising myself to it. I guess I need to keep practising with nitrile gloves till I get used to the sensation.