The Invention of Surgical Gloves

The history of surgical gloves has surprisingly little to do with germ theory, and more to do with protecting the hands of the wearer from irritants. In , Chief Nurse Caroline Hampton had developed a skin rash on her hands and arms. She got the rash from working barehanded with mercuric chloride during surgeries. These chemicals were used to kill germs, but Hampton had developed a contact reaction due to long exposure.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit our website.

Hampton showed her condition to Dr. William Halsted, who was the surgeon she worked with. (&#;Fun&#; facts: he described her as having &#;gentle blood&#;. They would later marry.) Dr. Halsted worked out some designs with the Goodyear Rubber Company and requested two pairs of rubber latex gloves be made. The gloves produced were not like the stretchy and thin disposable gloves used today, but they were considered to be thin at the time.

Wearing the gloves was a success for Nurse Hampton; she was able to perform her surgical duties as necessary and her skin was no longer harmed by the harsh disinfectants. More gloves were ordered, and soon all of Dr. Halsted&#;s surgical team were wearing gloves during surgeries. The primary benefit, oddly, was thought to be increased dexterity during operations. Preventing germs and bacteria from spreading was not the first consideration. (Dr. Halsted himself did not begin consistently wearing the gloves he helped create until about .)

In , about 50 percent of surgeries were fatal for the patient. This is because handwashing didn&#;t necessarily take place between surgeries or exams, so patients were constantly being introduced to new germs and bacteria. This had especially tragic outcomes when a person is in the vulnerable state of having their organs exposed.

Dr. Joseph Lister was the first to sterilize his surgical tools. Then in , he became the first to sterilize surgical gloves by using carbolic acid to clean them. The gloves made by the Goodyear Rubber Company were being to be used many times, as there were no medical reasons stated why they shouldn&#;t be. Once it became accepted that sterilizing gloves and washing hands is necessary, fatalities and infections from operations decreased significantly. This was a huge advancement in medical science.

It wasn&#;t until that surgical gloves changed dramatically. It was this year that sterile disposable latex rubber gloves were invented by Australian company Ansell Rubber. The process known as &#;Gamma Irradiation&#; is still used by glove companies to sterilize disposable gloves today.

Natural rubber latex remained the material of choice for disposable gloves until the s. Then, the synthetic material known as nitrile was introduced. This material provides the same protection that latex does. Nitrile is not a common allergen, whereas latex can provide mild to severe allergic reactions in many people.

Nitrile and latex gloves are still the most popular types of disposable gloves for medical professions today, in both exam and surgical settings.

Hongray Product Page

Disposable gloves have been part of day-to-day tasks for many years, but where did this essential product come from?

Disposable gloves were developed to create barrier protection when there was a great need for cleaner practices.

In the first surgical glove was developed by Dr. William Stewart Halstead at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Halstead was the first surgeon in chief and was known for his precision and cleanliness. The development of the gloves came after his nurse developed a rash while handling chemicals in surgery. Halstead working with Goodyear Rubber Co. to create rubber gloves to protect her hands; soon his entire surgical staff wore gloves during operations. Early benefits were oriented more toward improved dexterity than hygiene.

Joseph Lister was the first surgeon responsible for making surgical gloves sterile. In , about 50% of all surgical patients died because surgical practices weren&#;t sterile, and bacteria and pathogens were being passed between patients. Lister used carbolic acid to sterilize his instruments, which became the foundation for antiseptic surgery.

Funding for surgical glove research increased in the early s, and by the time came around the first disposable glove was developed. At this time the gloves were sterilized using gamma irradiation.

In the early s, as awareness increased around HIV, the bloodborne pathogen standard was released. With this came new requirements in protecting employees who came into contact with bodily fluids. Thus began the rise of personal protective equipment, including increased use of disposable gloves.

During the mid-s, nitrile disposable gloves appeared on the market. These gloves provided more chemical resistance than latex and were perfect for consumers with latex allergies. This created a shift for the medical industry as nitrile became more prevalent to protect against potential patient latex allergies. The nitrile glove was not intended to replace latex gloves but instead focus on chemical resistance.

Disposable gloves were pioneered by the medical industry and increased exam application use. The safe use of disposable gloves has expanded today to encompass automotive and industrial, food service and processing, janitorial and sanitation, and much more. The industrial segment of the market is currently the fastest-growing sector for disposable glove use.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Wholesale vinyl gloves.