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Have been picking up a few new things in order to form up a better FAK. I was in Walgreen’s last night, I needed a jar of ibuprofen and noticed a sale on gloves. I was thinking of vinyl due to mentions of latex allergy and so I was looking at a box. A young woman customer stopped by and asked why I was going to buy those vinyl gloves. I explained my first aid kit and concern for anyone I was potentially helping with it and she seemed impressed by the thought. She did go on to say that they used latex for fit and dexterity and warned me of the lunch lady fit and tear risk of vinyl. In addition I asked her about the seriousness of a latex reaction and she didn’t seem too worried about it. I ended up saving a few bucks and taking her up on an offer for some free ones she had in the car.
I saw in another post someone mentioning Nitrile, which I suppose may be the best of both worlds. My main concern with gloves is keeping a helper safe from blood or fluids. So anyone that may need use of my FAK in the future, be warned I am packing latex!
It would seem to me that in a situation where you needed gloves to help someone with your FAK (presence of blood) the possibility of an allergic reaction to latex would be of minimal importance compared to the initial trauma.
GregGates said:
I saw in another post someone mentioning Nitrile, which I suppose may be the best of both worlds.
That’s all I carry. As you pointed out, great protection without the worry of allergic reactions. The Purple Nitrile I use are a little thicker than most and feature textured finger tips to help with grip.BillCurnow said:
The Purple Nitrile I use are a little thicker than most and feature textured finger tips to help with grip.
The purple nitrile gloves are readily available, tougher than latex, and provide a better chemical barrier. The chemical barrier may not be an issue for first aid, but it could come in handy with other emergency uses.Costco has two boxes of 150-count nitrile gloves for about $15. I now have them in all my first aid kits and also use them for painting, gluing, and various jobs around the house where I’m dealing with something nasty. A great buy at the price.
Dave
DaveT said:
Costco has two boxes of 150-count nitrile gloves for about $15. I now have them in all my first aid kits and also use them for painting, gluing, and various jobs around the house where I’m dealing with something nasty. A great buy at the price.Dave
Granted, it’s not an in-person source, but you can get a 100 box for $7 online if you shop around… cheaper if you buy in bulk (i.e. a 6 pack for $30).Not really a good deal..but cool… I was at lowe’s today and they have 12 packs of mr clean nitrile gloves, in neat little vaccum packed ziploc bags for $2. It didn’t say anything about medical on the bag, but since most gloves aren’t sterile anyways…it’s a great packaging to throw in a bag.
I don’t have a problem with the performance of the old Latex gloves. If that’s what was available (for free) that’s what I grabbed. They’re handy for jotting down patient care notes, and playing “Rooster Man”. But my thing with Latex gloves is the smell. Hours after I’ve worn them, even after most thorough scrub-up with lots of suds and soap, I can still smell the rubbery Latex smell on my hands. I don’t know if it’s just me, or maybe it was a borderline sensitivity to Latex. So I was an early adopter of Nitrile, light blue, purple, and black.
Allergic reactions with Latex may happen when you
1. use powdered Latex gloves
AND 2. wear gloves nearly all the time at workIf you are concerned that the guy you’re helping might have some “diseases” then do what the Pro does.
In such situations where you have to deal with lots of blood we wear 2 pairs of gloves (a pair on top of another one).
Heavy Nitril gloves usually are used in laboratories with some high risk material. No need to use that one in a first aid situation.
You’re not going to put some injections/infusions on someone so the no.1 reason why Paramedics get infected with HIV etc. is not going to happen.Latex gloves are just fine. The Pros still use them…
I always assumed the reason to not wear latex gloves was if YOU had the allergy to it.. not the patient
As it was said the reason you put the gloves on was to fix something that’s a lot more serious than the potential for allergic reation to your gloves for a few moments
I always buy the purple nitrile too (unless I can find the OD green which are also around at times)
The boxes of purple I buy at walgreens are on sale 2 for 1 fairly often.. that give me 100 (two boxes of 50) for $5 at the walgreens a few blocks awayScottAW said:
Not really a good deal..but cool… I was at lowe’s today and they have 12 packs of mr clean nitrile gloves, in neat little vaccum packed ziploc bags for $2. It didn’t say anything about medical on the bag, but since most gloves aren’t sterile anyways…it’s a great packaging to throw in a bag.
Sounds good. I’ll have to stop by Lowe’s. Having them prepackaged in pairs would make it worth that price, which isn’t terribly unreasonable. Aside from first aid, I like to have rubber gloves for when I have to do unexpected dirty work, like working on my bike. Ever try scrubbing that black chain grease off your hands, even with lava soap?I found some food-handling gloves at work.
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I put a pair in my wallet. Are these OK for rescue work?
I have not been happy with the nitrile gloves from Costco. I have only used about a dozen so far and three or four have ripped when putting them on.They are sized correctly,I have used disposable gloves for years.I bought two boxes so I hope the rest of the gloves are better.
Nitrile gloves hold up MUCH better in the heat, which is a consideration if you are keeping your gloves in a car FAK.
When I was helping a friend parkerize gun parts, I could go several hours before the gloves started to break down — less than a quarter of that with latex. They tell you not to carry condoms in your wallet for a reason!! 😉
Nitrile gloves hold up MUCH better in the heat, which is a consideration if you are keeping your gloves in a car FAK.
When I was helping a friend parkerize gun parts, I could go several hours before the gloves started to break down — less than a quarter of that with latex. They tell you not to carry condoms in your wallet for a reason!! 😉
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