Nitrile Vs. Latex Vs. Vinyl Gloves: Which One To Choose?

Being an essential part of many different industries, disposable gloves are one of the most common forms of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). As such, their most popular use case is in the medical industry, being worn by medical professionals in hospitals providing healthcare for patients. In the case of the medical industry, disposable gloves serve the purpose of protecting patients and healthcare providers alike from exposure to dangerous microbes and cross-contamination. However, did you know that there are different types of disposable gloves used in the medical industry? Among the different types of disposable gloves, the three most notable ones are namely nitrile gloves, latex gloves, as well as vinyl gloves. Read on to learn more about nitrile vs. latex vs. vinyl gloves, and decide how to go about choosing the best one.

Nitrile Gloves

Nitrile gloves rose to prominence around the early 1990s as an alternative to latex gloves. While nitrile gloves aren’t as flexible or elastic as compared to latex gloves, nitrile gloves are known to offer better resistance to chemicals and are also much more durable. As such, nitrile gloves became the top choice for medical professionals that have to work with potentially corrosive and hazardous chemicals. In addition, their durable and puncture-resistant capabilities also make them a great fit for the majority of medical environments.

Latex Gloves

Latex gloves are considered to be the most common and popular choice of gloves in the world of medical disposable gloves. This is largely because latex gloves were seen as the best form of protection against bloodborne pathogens such as HIV in the 1980s and 1990s.

However, over the years, it became apparent that latex gloves can cause allergic reactions for some wearers that don them on for long periods. As such, the demand for non-latex medical gloves increased over the years, leading to alternatives like nitrile and vinyl gloves. Nowadays, latex gloves remain a popular option for medical professionals that don’t get allergic reactions easily. After all, latex gloves are comfortable for wearers, are cost-effective, and give wearers a high degree of touch sensitivity.

Vinyl Gloves

Made from PVC, a petroleum-based film, the biggest benefit of vinyl gloves is their low cost. Vinyl gloves are relatively inexpensive to manufacture as compared to their latex and nitrile counterparts. Being a cheaper option, vinyl gloves do come with certain drawbacks.

One such limitation is that vinyl gloves are generally less durable and offer less protection against biomedical and chemical exposure. As such, the structural integrity of vinyl gloves is compromised whenever they are stretched or flexed. Apart from that, vinyl gloves also raised a red flag in terms of environmental issues.

As such, vinyl gloves are oftentimes only used in the medical field when the use case is non-hazardous and in low-infection environments.

With this analysis, you can now make a better decision when finding new disposable gloves for your organization.