Gloves protect the skin and prevent cross-contamination
Hospitals use both latex and nitrile gloves. Latex allergies are on the rise, and frequent exposure to latex can cause severe dermatitis, so hospitals often have both nitrile and latex options available for their staff.
Nitrile gloves are good enough for low risk, general procedures in hospital
Doctors wear blue gloves because it is easy to see when the glove fails. For example, it is easy to see if the glove has become compromised by being torn or punctured, or it is easy to see if the glove has become contaminated. The same theory applies to white disposable gloves, which is why white and blue disposable gloves are the most common in the medical industry.
No, each country can have different standards for a glove to be described and marketed as being medically safe. For example, in Malaysia, we have some of the strictest requirements for a disposable glove to be certified and registered as medically safe by our Standard Malaysian Glove (SMG) and and Medical Device Authority ( MDA ) Malaysia.
Chemotherapy gloves are disposable gloves that meet the standard ASTM D6968-05 for Assessment of Resistance of Medical Gloves to Permeation by Chemotherapy Drugs. Only disposable gloves that are certified to ASTM D6968-05 should be used in environments where contact with Chemotherapy is likely.
