Safe on their hands

摘要

MUCH HAS been written about latex allergy, often referring to the "epidemic" that occurred from wearing natural rubber latex gloves. Unfortunately, some of what has been published doesn't correspond with the scientific evidence. Natural rubber latex (which we will refer to simply as latex) was the original material used in gloves to protect against chemical and biological hazards. It was used for many years both in industry and the healthcare sector with virtually no allergy problems. The latex allergy problem first became significant shortly after healthcare providers brought in universal barrier precautions as a reaction to the threat from HIV and AIDS.