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Disposable gloves are an essential item in any healthcare environment. They not only protect healthcare providers and

patients from exposure to potentially dangerous microbes, they also help set a precedent of hygiene and care across the

industry. While this shouldn’t come as a surprise, what you might not have realized is that disposable gloves aren’t

all created equal.

Different materials and design choices make certain products better suited for different medical environments. And if you

order the wrong type of glove for your practice, you may end up wasting resources and increasing the risk of punctures, rips,

and tears. Disposable gloves are generally made from one of three materials: nitrile, latex, or vinyl. In this blog,

we’ll explore what makes these gloves different from each other, as well as offer guidance into which environments each

type is best suited for.

Latex gloves

For decades, latex has been the rockstar of the medical disposable glove world. This is because, as noted by Darwin Brown

in Physician Assistant, latex gloves were recommended protection in the 1980s and 1990s against bloodborne pathogens like

HIV. But as their popularity increased, so did cases of allergic reactions. This led to more demand for latex-free disposable

glove alternatives, like nitrile and vinyl. For those who aren’t allergic, latex gloves are comfortable, relatively

cost-effective, and offer a high degree of touch sensitivity.

With high levels of flexibility, protection, and comfort, disposable latex gloves are suitable for most medical

environments – as long as latex allergies are not an issue.

Vinyl gloves

Vinyl gloves are made from PVC, a petroleum-based film. The primary benefit of vinyl disposable gloves is that

they’re inexpensive to manufacture. That being said, they are less durable than latex and nitrile, and they offer limited

protection against chemical or biomedical exposure. When vinyl gloves are stretched or flexed, the individual molecules

separate and the integrity of the protective barrier is compromised. Vinyl gloves have also raised a red flag in terms of

their environmental impact, as noted by Health & Safety International.

Due to their low cost and low protection levels, vinyl gloves are commonly used in non-hazardous and low-infection

environments.

Nitrile gloves

Nitrile gloves came to prominence in the 1990s as a leading latex alternative. While they’re not as elastic or

flexible as their latex counterparts, disposable nitrile gloves are notably more durable and resistant to chemicals. As such,

these gloves are the ideal choice for anyone who has to handle potentially hazardous and corrosive chemicals. They are also

perfectly suited for most medical environments, being exceptionally puncture-resistant and eliminating the risk of latex

allergy reactions.

Understanding these key differences will help you make the right decision when selecting new exam gloves for your

organization’s unique medical environment. And except these gloves, considering the price and the performance,

Synthetic Nitrile Gloves are also pretty popular.