*snap!*

You may remember my edit to the condom post about cornstarch being used to prevent the latex from sticking to itself when packaged. Apparently this is common with latex gloves as well. I’m not very comfortable with this because I don’t think that most people would think about corn being in latex. But then again, that’s what this blog is about.

Most of the concern with powdered latex gloves is that latex proteins stick to the powder and are released into the air when the gloves are touched or moved. Therefore, if you have a latex allergy and your doctor uses “safe” gloves on you but uses powdered gloves on other people, there’s a possibility you could still get contaminated through the air. I recognize that this is rather unlikely in real life because of a sort of hyper-awareness that comes with allergies. Anything that could potentially get contaminated is washed if it needs to be just to double check, and it makes sense to simply use non-powdered gloves instead of washing the office from top to bottom.

However, what about the non-latex powdered gloves? Some medical websites do tote “lightly powdered” options (although I think powder-free is the mainstay), so isn’t there great potential for contamination there? I know that the issue is probably under control and that I may be making more out of this than I should be, but I just keep worrying about what if someone with corn intolerance goes to a dentist or something and ends up with corn starch in their mouth?

http://www.aafp.org/afp/980101ap/reddy.html

(kickass Frankenfurter image from here)