March, 2008 - Health Care Without Harm Europe Newsletter
New re-usable glove could help prevent allergic reactions
Standard latex is a problem because it causes allergies - PVC-free alternatives are a better choice. A new latex glove technology may, however, offer another solution to the problem of allergies.
A new latex manufacturing technique could help overcome several major problems hospitals encounter when trying to prevent allergic reactions to latex in patients and staff.
Soon to be piloted in three hospitals, the Ecoglove can be reprocessed instead of immediately thrown away after use and is manufactured using a process which removes the allergens which cause health problems in about 10% of people.
Each glove is tagged with an identifying code, which allows a re-processing machine to track the number of times a glove has been used and cleaned. The gloves can be reprocessed eight times before disposal, at which point they can be shredded and recycled.
Allergens normally found in latex gloves are absent in the Ecoglove because it is made from de-proteinised latex, which the manufacturer expects to prevent allergic reactions in patients and staff.
The glove could also help reduce the environmental footprint of hospitals by offering a more cost-effective alternative to PVC gloves, a widely-used but environmentally-unfriendly alternative to latex.
PVC is a cause of concern because the manufacturing and disposal processes are polluting. The gloves also contain very large quantities of phthalates - for example, Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden, estimates that it uses 40 tonnes of phthalates in its gloves.
However, it is difficult for hospitals to move away from PVC in gloves. Many of the alternatives are either less flexible, which is unpopular with staff, or as much as 30-50% more expensive. A reprocessable, high-quality non-allergenic latex glove could be the solution hospitals are looking for.
For More information:
EcoGlove Limited: +852 8120 7555 / www.ecoglove.com
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