Lindsey
Firstly, you state that your workers use surgeons gloves. I assume from that
you are referring to the thin, disposable natural latex rubber non-sterile
gloves. I hope that these are unpowdered. If not, then you should change to
the non-powdered gloves immediately and ban the others. It is the powdered
gloves that so often trigger the latex allergy. Go for non-powdered, low
free protein (max 50 mg/g of glove) NRL gloves.
As far as the cold working conditions are concerned, why not try cotton
liners underneath the gloves. To maintain dexterity all you do is cut off
about 1 cm of each finger tip! This will give your workers some insulation
against the cold whilst retaining the dexterity they need.
A study of workers in Denmark gutting fish found that whilst the hands were
cold they did not notice any real itching or burning sensations. These
developed once the hands warmed up. We have recently had a similar situation
in a factory handling meat products.
You may be interested to know that in Germany, if occlusive gloves have to
be worn for more than 25% of a shift, i.e. two hours, in total, then special
regulations apply (Technische Regeln fur Gefahrenstoffe TRGS 531). These
recommend that cotton liners be worn and that special measures must be
taken, including use of an emollient lotion on the skin once the gloves have
been removed and hands rinsed, skin health surveillance etc.
If you need any more information please contact me direct.
Regards
Chris Packham
EnviroDerm Services
Solutions in skin management
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