Dilemma: Powdered latex gloves

Is the latest NHS Plus guidance on latex allergy a help or hindrance?

Summary:

The national guideline issued by the NHS Plus- funded OHCEU on the management of latex allergy does not advocate a complete ban on use of latex gloves in the workplace, but it does recommend a move away from powdered latex. Is this a confusing message?

ALF CHAMINGS

Too little, too late, sums up the approach by NHS Plus and the Occupational Health and Clinical Excellence Unit (OHCEU) in their national guideline on managing latex allergy at work¹.. 

Occupational hygienist Alf Chamings is a senior health and safety manager in the NHS. He believes that the guideline issued by the NHS Plus-funded OHCEU ‘muddies the water’ by failing to discuss employers’ legal obligations to prevent or adequately control exposure to latex in the workplace

DR KIT HARLING

Latex is found in numerous products used at work, particularly in healthcare, and up to one in six healthcare workers can suffer from latex-induced problems. Somewhat controversially, the new guideline ..

Dr Kit Harling is director of NHS Plus.

Author: Chamings A, Harling K

Tags allergies dilemma hazardous substances

Occupational Health at Work October/November 2008 (vol. 05/3) pp30-31

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