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clausti
Jan 24, 2006, 4:51 PM
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Does anyone else work in a lab or other job consistently where they wear nitrile exam/lab gloves?
They make my fingers peel something awful if my calluses are the least bit nicked and I was wondering if anyone had any good thoughts on this besides, "Don't pick your fingertips."
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anykineclimb
Jan 24, 2006, 5:00 PM
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not a big fan of Nitrile, I prefer latex when dealing with patients but I have found that if I wear them for a pronger period (45min- 1 hour) that will happen.
so I guess the solution is to limit the time you're wearing gloves. If at all possible, take em off and let your hands "breath" for a bit.
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iceisnice
Jan 24, 2006, 5:07 PM
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have you noted an actual difference between nitrile and latex? i've seen both have that effect. as stated, its probably just a matter of allowing your hands to breathe once in a while and not soaked with sweat. its kinda similar to trench foot. its the moisture.
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clausti
Jan 24, 2006, 5:13 PM
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I don't notice a difference between the powder-free latex and the nitrile, both trap the moisture and make my hands peel, but there is a difference with the powdered latex gloves. More funny smell and less hand sweat, which I know is the idea.
Unfortunately, my lab buys nitrile as it does not cause allergic reactions.
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bobruef
Jan 24, 2006, 5:13 PM
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I've never had that problem w/ nitrile gloves, although I rarely have to wear them more than an hour or two at a time. I do notice that my hands enjoy breathing when I take the gloves off.
Powdered latex glove (which i wear for extended time periods) tend to be a little easier on the hands in my experience
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pdx_climber
Jan 24, 2006, 5:24 PM
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I wore nitrile gloves for a few hours per day at my first job after college. That lasted for a year or so and I never had any callous problems with 'em.
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reno
Jan 24, 2006, 5:43 PM
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In reply to: Unfortunately, my lab buys nitrile as it does not cause allergic reactions.
That, and nitrile gloves are better barriers when dealing with numerous organic solvents. Latex fails remarkably in those situations.
But, FWIW, many of the latex allergies seen are due to lower quality latex being used for gloves (rapidly skyrocketing demand in the past two decades means glove makers are having to ramp up production... that results in lower quality, but greater quantity.)
I prefer latex for medical work, but nitrile in the lab. Safer.
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breaksnclimbs
Jan 24, 2006, 6:08 PM
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I work in an aero space company as a tech, building hardware :shock:
I wear nitrile gloves for hours at a time. I don't have the problems you do, with calluses peeling but, some people here wear a real thin cotton liner under the glove to help absorb the sweat and, still have some dexterity/sensitivity.
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blondgecko
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Jan 24, 2006, 11:20 PM
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I find that wearing latex gloves with any sort of graze on my hands is sheer torture. After about 15 minutes or so, it starts to buuurrnnn, and just gets worse and worse. Dunno, maybe I have a minor latex allergy or something...
As for the peeling thing, yup - moisture is your problem. I get exactly the same problem after a long shower/bath/swim or washing dishes without gloves on.
One thing I find helps is to use lots and lots of moisturising cream - I have a family-sized bottle of cheap-ass sorbolene cream that I use as soon as I get through the door after climbing. Seems to help replenish the natural water barrier - definitely drastically increases the time my hands take to "prune up", even when I have to wear gloves for hours on end.
Oh, one last thing - don't use powdered gloves in the lab. That stuff gets into absolutely everything - screws up experiments, and makes keeping things sterile just that extra bit harder.
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hoofers_andy
Jan 25, 2006, 12:37 AM
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i've found that the nitrile gloves with aloe are the enemy. they make my hands so soft that when the sweat builds up, the calluses are falling off after an hour or two. i can wear regular latex for a REALLY long time with no similar effect.
luckily my lab only uses nitrile for animal work and latex for everything else.
actually, come to think of it, it might not be the type of glove at all. when i'm wearing the nitrile, i keep them on for a couple hours at a time because i'm dealing with animals. when i wear latex for benchwork, i change them frequently to prevent contamination and i always have to let my hands dry for a couple minutes before i can get another pair on (since they aren't powdered).
the problem may be just that your (and my) hands are getting sweaty and soft, and have nothing to do with the glove type... :?
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jimfix
Jan 25, 2006, 1:19 AM
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What are you dealing with that makes you wear gloves? Chemical or biological. For chemical, I go without except for the real nasties, but I guess I'm just a hardman.
Most solvents with go through most gloves, you can get specific protection for one solvent, but I'm not going changing gloves every 5 min.
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talons05
Jan 25, 2006, 2:06 AM
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The problem is the same with Nitrile, Latex, latex-alternative, duct-tape, etc. Since they are non-permeable barriers (good at keeping blood, urine, emesis, other bodily fluids, etc. etc. etc. at bay) they don't let moisture escape. It's kind of like when you were a kid and stayed forever in the bathtub and got all wrinkly...
One thing that helps is to get some gold-bond powder and rub on your hands before donning gloves. If you work in a hospital where it's ON/OFF all day, that won't help, but if you spend many consecutive hours like at a lab station, it will help.
Cheers,
A.W.
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blondgecko
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Jan 29, 2006, 3:23 AM
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In reply to: What are you dealing with that makes you wear gloves? Chemical or biological. For chemical, I go without except for the real nasties, but I guess I'm just a hardman.
You do know that organic chemists have one of the shortest life expectancies of any other profession, don't you?
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tnchief
Jan 29, 2006, 3:40 AM
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I personally use powdered vinyl gloves. They don't fit as tightly as the nitrile and latex gloves, so they "breathe" better while providing the same amount of protection. I also prefer how they handle compared to the other types.
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rock_fencer
Jan 29, 2006, 5:56 AM
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i use nitrile all the time and have no problem. i ofcourse work with all types of organic and inorganic crap that pretty much just goes through the gloves so my skin might just be f-ed up. another thing you can do is have your lab order cotton liner gloves. I use those while wearing gloves so they are easier to take off so you dont use a new pair everytime.
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lehrski
Jan 31, 2006, 5:00 AM
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One of my student's hands peel horribly from both nitrile and latex gloves. I found him some glove liners at Fisher. They're a very thin pair of cotton gloves which fit inside the other gloves and absorb the sweat keeping his hands from peeling. He trades them out a couple of times of day.
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braaaaaaaadley
Jan 31, 2006, 6:37 AM
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I don't have this problem, but one solution might be to rub your hands with hand sanatizer and letting it evaporate off of your hands. This will dry your hands prior to putting the gloves on which could help with your problem. I have heard of backpackers doing this to their feet before walking thirty hot, sweaty miles on the AT. I hope this helps!
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jimfix
Feb 8, 2006, 3:54 AM
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In reply to: You do know that organic chemists have one of the shortest life expectancies of any other profession, don't you?
Ummmmmm, I think you'll find they have an above average life expectancy. Other professions with high chemical exposure do have increased cancer rates and reduced life expectancy (truck drivers from exhaust fumes, dry cleaners from solvents etc), however organic chemists have the advantage of fume hoods. The higher than average wage also helps extend life-span.
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dirtybiker
Feb 8, 2006, 5:00 PM
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I am a chemist that works in a cleanroom all day so not wearing gloves has never been an option. one thing that i have started using is fingerless glove liners. they absorb a lot of sweat and limit direct contact with the glove...the fingerless is the way to go, that way you can still grab things like normal. most scientific suppliers have them. PM me if you have any more questions
these little liners saved my hands!
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blondgecko
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Feb 8, 2006, 11:03 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: You do know that organic chemists have one of the shortest life expectancies of any other profession, don't you? Ummmmmm, I think you'll find they have an above average life expectancy. Other professions with high chemical exposure do have increased cancer rates and reduced life expectancy (truck drivers from exhaust fumes, dry cleaners from solvents etc), however organic chemists have the advantage of fume hoods. The higher than average wage also helps extend life-span.
That was just a little "fact" I picked up years ago from someone doing a degree in actuarial studies. Don't know whether it's true or not, but experience with many people who would do such things as wash their hands with benzene, wash colloidal gold off with sodium cyanide :shock: and generally not use the safety features of the lab for what they were designed for meant that I accepted it at face value.
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braaaaaaaadley
Feb 8, 2006, 11:09 PM
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In reply to: That was just a little "fact" I picked up years ago from someone doing a degree in actuarial studies. Don't know whether it's true or not, but experience with many people who would do such things as wash their hands with benzene, wash colloidal gold off with sodium cyanide :shock: and generally not use the safety features of the lab for what they were designed for meant that I accepted it at face value.
Benzene eh?... those chemists should know better :?
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jimfix
Feb 8, 2006, 11:21 PM
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In reply to: Benzene eh?... those chemists should know better
Chemists do. I've hear of mechanics (in days gone by) using a big ol' drum of benzene to degrease, but chemists are generally fairly careful with chemicals.
Health and safety regulations mean you can’t even sneeze in the lab without filling in safety sheets.
However old school profs were known for smoking pipes in the labs....
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islandclimber
Feb 8, 2006, 11:27 PM
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Nice to see there are so many other scientist climbers about!
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dirtybiker
Feb 8, 2006, 11:59 PM
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I agree! it is great to see other climbers that are also glove wearing lab geeks like myself... what field is everybody in?
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pdx_climber
Feb 9, 2006, 9:46 PM
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I've been trying to escape lab work for a while, but for the last 2 years or so I've been in the environmental testing field. Specifically, in ICP & MS labs for quantifying the amounts of metals in soil and water samples.
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