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Allergy Relief / Others / Glove switch call to beat allergies
Glove switch call to beat allergies
Allergies and asthma associated with latex gloves can be cut down if the NHS switches to using a different type, experts said.
New guidelines were published urging hospitals to use powder-free, low protein latex gloves as an alternative to the traditional powdered latex sort.
It comes after a former trainee nurse, who had to give up her job due to a latex allergy, won a six-figure compensation payout earlier this month.
Tanya Dodd, 25, worked at Scarborough General Hospital where she developed the allergy, which can cause breathing problems and potentially life-threatening anaphylactic shock.
Ms Dodd said she was never warned of the dangers of latex and was never told to minimise her exposure to it after she developed her allergy.
The guidance from the Royal College of Physicians and NHS Plus, a network of NHS occupational health departments, said switching to powder-free gloves "significantly reduces latex allergy and latex-induced asthma".
Powder-free gloves contain around a tenth of the latex of powdered gloves, it said.
The guidelines also recommend that employees with a latex allergy use non-latex gloves, although the College does not advocate a complete ban on latex gloves.
Up to one in six healthcare workers can suffer from latex-related problems, which has been recognised as an occupational disease since the 1980s, according to the guidelines.
More minor symptoms include a rash, itchy or runny eyes or nose, sneezing and coughing. Other products used in the NHS containing latex include balloons, adhesive tape and bandages, condoms, catheters, rubber bands, dental dams, tourniquets and resuscitation equipment.
From http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hqs6G9qnVo
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