Vinyl Medical Gloves

Vinyl gloves have a wide range of medical applications, providing a latex free alternative for non-invasive examinations and general hospital use at a fraction of the cost of Nitrile medical gloves. With the occurrence of latex allergies rising with the use of latex gloves, vinyl gloves are a low cost and effective barrier for medical exams and settings where the risk of cross infection is already low.

Vinyl gloves are easy to put on and their loose fit makes them ideal single use gloves in high volume examination environments, where the change over of personal protective equipment is high due to the number of patients being examined. Combined with their comparatively low price, many organisations and hospitals favour the use of vinyl gloves in settings where either latex or nitrile gloves are deemed unnecessary and prohibitively expensive for wide scale use.

What Are The Advantages Of Vinyl Gloves?

Vinyl gloves are not recommended for any invasive procedures, high risk settings or for surgical applications. However, they do have a number of distinct advantages over both latex and nitrile gloves:

Vinyl Gloves Are Non Allergenic

Since the invention of the latex glove, their use has increased steadily in medical practice across the world. With it we have seen a marked increase in latex allergies, which are known to cause a wide range of problematic symptoms.

These include skin problems, allergic contact dermatitis, hives, itching, and a stuffy or runny nose. In extreme cases powdered latex gloves can cause asthma symptoms like wheezing and chest tightness(1). Vinyl contains very few potential allergens, making it a great choice for long term usage in non invasive medical examinations, where only a simple barrier is required.

Vinyl Gloves Offer Effective Barrier Protection

It is true that in surgical settings, where gloves are stretched and liable to puncture, both Nitrile and latex gloves have been shown in studies to outperform vinyl gloves.

The molecular structure of vinyl means it is more liable to break when elongated. A lack of cross-linking in the individual molecules of vinyl means that they tend to separate when the film is stretched. (4)

When testing the barrier protection rat, Nitrile showed the lowest failure rate (1.3%). Latex rated second with 2.2%, and vinyl had a failure rate of 8.2%. (2) In low stress and non technical scenarios though, there has been shown to be no significant difference in the barrier protection provided by vinyl gloves when compared directly against nitrile and latex (3).

So in environments where only a light exam is required, or for portering or the handling of medical supplies, vinyl gloves can offer comparable barrier protection against pathogens and viruses.

Vinyl Gloves Are A Low Cost Alternative

Vinyl gloves are cheaper than either latex or nitrile gloves, making them an ideal choice for light medical tasks and more general hospital use by porters and visitors alike. Procuring vinyl gloves allows institutions to save higher grade medical gloves for use in more appropriate settings, and can save them significant amounts of money.

Manufacturing, Testing & Standards

Vinyl gloves come from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) monomers alone. The chemists add a chemical called a plasticizer to the PVC after they have polymerized. The plasticizer is crucial to the gloves production as it makes the material flexible – otherwise, the PVC would remain rigid. PVC is relatively inexpensive to produce when compared to both nitrile and latex.

The main manufacturing areas for vinyl gloves are China and Malaysia, with Vietnam and Thailand also contributing a fair percentage of the total. S0me of the biggest suppliers of vinyl gloves include Ammex, Ansell, Sri Trang and Intco.

The requirements that vinyl needs to pass are different to those needed for other medical grade gloves as result of the materials used. Medical grade gloves for use in the USA must conform to the American Society for Testing and Materials standard (ASTM) (ASTM, 2001a; 2001b; 2000) (5).

Why Are Vinyl Gloves The Preferred Medical Choice?

Vinyl gloves are easy to put on and their loose fit makes them ideal single use gloves in high volume examination environments, where the change over of personal protective equipment is high due to the number of patients being examined. Combined with their comparatively low price, many organisations and hospitals favour the use of vinyl gloves in settings where either latex or nitrile gloves are deemed unnecessary and prohibitively expensive for wide scale use.

Looking for other glove types? We also have Nitrile Exam Gloves and Latex Surgical Gloves in stock.