If you need to buy new gloves, you might wonder if you should purchase nitrile or latex gloves.
Both are very popular, but it’s important to consider how they vary and which one is better.
Isn’t nitrile the same as latex?
While both nitrile and latex gloves are durable and made from rubber, nitrile doesn’t contain the same proteins that are found in latex, which is why they’re safer for people with latex allergies.
With that in mind, let’s check out the pros and cons of nitrile vs latex gloves. This will help you to find out exactly how they differ from each other and which one is best for your needs.
Latex gloves are popular because they’re strong, and this makes them a solid choice in industrial and medical fields.
Pros
Latex gloves fit hands like a second skin, which gives them tactile sensitivity and dexterity.
The above point makes them valuable for use in sensitive and precise applications, such as surgery.
They are usually lightly powdered, and this makes them easier to put on and take off.
They are very elastic, and that increases their level of strength.
Cons
Since latex gloves are powdered, this can cause allergic reactions in some people.
Latex in general is an allergen, which can make it dangerous to use when it comes to healthcare settings.
Due to their color and how they’re like a second skin, latex gloves can make it difficult for you to detect tears and punctures in them.
Latex gloves do not handle chemicals and solvents very well, offering minimal protection against them.
Pros
Nitrile gloves are extremely strong and durable, while being resistant to punctures and tears.
These gloves come in a variety of colors so that it makes it easier to notice if they have tears in them. Their colors can also help to conceal substances that could be on them, such as tattoo ink or blood.
Nitrile gloves are highly resistant to chemicals and solvents.
Medical-grade gloves are usually made out of nitrile because this material is resistant to fats and oils in the body.
Since they don’t contain any latex, nitrile gloves are safe for people who have latex allergies. This is especially beneficial because some allergic reactions to latex can be life-threatening. An example is anaphylaxis.
Cons
Nitrile gloves tend to be a bit more expensive than latex gloves.
These gloves are not as comfortable as compared to latex gloves. This is something to bear in mind if you need to wear the gloves for long periods of time.
Nitrile is said to have less tensile strength than other glove materials, such as latex. Tensile strength is the load that a material can tolerate before cracking or breaking. That said, nitrile still offers excellent protection against tears, cuts, and punctures.
In response to the challenges faced by oversea healthcare facilities/companies to source quality gloves with FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and CE approvals in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are offering our services for sourcing powder-free/powder nitrile examination gloves and personal protective equipment (PPE), in Thailand. We hope to give our value-added services to both the buyer and seller by giving the all-necessary information, verification, quality check (third party) and use international SOP to oversee the contracts and supply chain for inspection and timely delivery. We plan to source additional contracts and create relationships with the local industry.
We are current in the final stages to sign buyer-seller contracts for a total of 220 million additional gloves that will be delivered in 2021 -2022.