Latex gloves are durable, flexible, and fit closely to the hand providing good dexterity and feel – this makes them useful for both medical and PPE purposes. Examination and surgical gloves are used in medical applications for infection control and to prevent cross contamination (for both user and patient). Latex gloves are also used to provide hand protection from particulates, detergents and various other chemicals in both medical and industrial applications.
Latex gloves may be tailored to suit different applications through different surface textures and chlorination treatments – additional chlorination of the glove provides a smoother silky feel compare to a single-chlorinated glove which has a tackier feel and greater grip.
While latex gloves have many advantageous physical properties, residual proteins may be present in latex products which can cause allergic reactions in some users. In these cases, an alternative glove material such as nitrile or vinyl should be used instead.