May 21, 1999 - Nurses exposed to latex glove allergy - RCN acts to reduce risks
NURSES EXPOSED TO LATEX GLOVE ALLERGY RCN ACTS TO REDUCE RISK

More and more nurses could develop a severe and life-long allergy from the gloves they wear everyday, the Royal College of Nursing reported today.

The danger nurses are exposed to stems from the use of natural rubber latex gloves and, in particular, powdered latex gloves. Symptoms range from itchy, sore hands, painful blistering, runny noses and swollen eyes to asthma and, in extreme cases, the potentially fatal anaphylactic shock. The allergy cannot be cured and is currently irreversible. Nurses sensitised to latex may face chronic ill health, early retirement and the fear of a fatal reaction if exposed to latex.

To reduce the risk to nurses and highlight the action they should take, the RCN has launched 'Getting a Grip on Latex Allergy'.

This awareness campaign is designed to alert nurses to the problem and encourage them to make sure they wear gloves that
minimise the risks to their health.

The long-term objective of the campaign is to stop the supply and use of powdered latex gloves in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care organisations. Gloves are treated with cornstarch powder to make them easier to put on, but this powder can leach the latex proteins out of the gloves so that it becomes airborne. Nurses and other members of the health care team then breathe in the powder and the allergen. In addition, the cornstarch itself is an irritant which is abrasive to the skin, and can make the risk of developing the allergy more likely.

For a nurse with an allergy to latex, all natural latex rubber products in everyday life at home and work have to be avoided to prevent a reaction. Common household items containing rubber include underwear, condoms, the soles of shoes, rubber bands, self-seal envelopes, baby's bottle teats and rubber household gloves. Outside the house, latex is found in lottery scratch cards, the rubber on escalators, in car tyres and car mats and in the conveyor belts at supermarket check-outs. In hospitals, many pieces of equipment, such as catheters, tubes used to administer oxygen or anaesthetics, syringes, wound drains and mattress covers will contain latex.

Universal Precautions, introduced to protect nurses from blood-borne infections such as HIV and Hepatitis, led to more use of gloves in hospitals. Nurses and other health care workers became accustomed to wearing gloves as a matter of course, even when it would have been safe not to. For many procedures, when there is minimal exposure to blood and other contaminants, vinyl gloves are a safe alternative to wearing latex gloves.

Christine Hancock, RCN General Secretary, said: 'At a time of nurse shortages, it makes no sense to risk losing experienced nurses. There is a straightforward solution to this problem and it is simply wrong to knowingly expose staff to a risk which could leave them with chronic ill health. Employers need to invest in safety and end the supply and use of powdered latex gloves. Employers must minimise the risks for nurses or face increased sick leave, possible payment of injury benefit and personal injury litigation.

'Nurses who are already sensitised to latex must be provided with a latex-free environment so that they can work safely and we can keep these experienced nurses in employment.'