'Surgeons' gloves are getting to be a bug-bear among the expense items of an operating room which does much work, and a "word about their selection and care may not be amiss.' So began an article on gloves over 100 years ago. The following extracts may be of particular interest to all surgical nurses, especially those working in theatres today: 'The quality of the rubber in any of the gloves on the market is good enough for all purposes, and tremendous inflation which some makers exploit in their gloves is entirely spectacular and not at all essential as a test of quality for a good glove. They are not intended for use as balloons, and need only enough elasticity to prevent distension sufficient for easy putting on and free movement of the hand and fingers. 'When buying gloves it is well to know that reasonable, and quite often repeated, boiling or steam sterilization will not ruin good rubber, but will disintegrate composition material, and that the latter can be readily detected by simply subjecting the glove to a steady pull.'
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