Chris, Unfortunately they were using powdered latex. We have advised them
against that and I will back that up with your advice, particularly the
fingerless cotton gloves. We had actually considered advising nitrile. Any
thoughts?
Many thanks
Li
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Packham" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 7:49 AM
Subject: Cold hands
> 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
> For information on skin management, technical bulletins and information
> about our support services visit our website (www.enviroderm.co.uk)
> For immediate help e-mail us at [log in to unmask] or phone on +44 1386
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