The FDA put forward a ban on December 19th, 2016 which was put into effect on January 18th, 2017. The ban stated that powdered medical grade gloves can no longer be sold as ruled by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). This ban was in relation to concerns regarding powdered gloves and the potential dangers they posed to patients in medical and healthcare facilities, and the fact that there are an abundance of other glove options available such as nitrile and vinyl that appear to pose less risks.
What Gloves Were Affected?
Gloves that fall under the following three categories were ordered to be removed from the market by this ban: powdered surgeon’s gloves, powdered patient examination gloves, and absorbable powder used to make gloves easier to put on. Any healthcare facility must now use latex, vinyl, or nitrile powder-free options instead.
Risks to Patients and Users
The FDA determined that there were risks making powdered medical gloves unsafe for patients and users. Among those risks were worries about latex proteins in the powder being dispersed after users remove their gloves and how it would affect those with latex allergies and sensitivities. There were also concerns that powdered gloves could cause infection or allergic reactions in patients.
It was deemed that the purpose and benefit of the powder - making gloves easy to don - was not enough to make up for the risks, and made the gloves unsafe as a result.
What About Non-Medical Grade Gloves?
This ban does not cover industrial or foodservice powdered gloves, only medical grade powdered gloves. That said, it’s important to keep in mind that powdered gloves can cause allergies in any setting and that those with latex allergies and sensitivities should use powder-free and latex-free glove options to ensure their comfort and safety.
Powder-Free Medical Grade Options
GloveNation has a variety of powder-free medical grade glove options available to suit any healthcare or medical facility need. Latex Ultra-Flex, Ninja Black, Response ER, nitrile Black Widow, Grape Grip, Verge-Med, NitraFlex, Protector XR, and vinyl Chameleon, Verge-Med, and Sensi-Flex gloves are all powder-free and made from quality materials to offer maximum protection and comfort to users.
Don’t settle for uncomfortable and ineffective gloves, use GloveNation’s selection to meet all your foodservice, industrial, and medical disposable glove needs.