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The NHS has been urged to use a different type of latex glove following concerns over links to allergies and asthma.
The
Royal College of Physicians and NHS Plus advised all hospitals to use
powder-free, low protein latex gloves as an alternative to the
traditional powdered latex sort.
It comes after a former trainee
nurse won a six-figure compensation payout earlier this month when she
was forced to give up her job due to a latex allergy.
Tanya
Dodd, 25, developed the allergy, which can cause breathing problems and
anaphylactic shock, while working at Scarborough General Hospital.
Ms
Dodd said she had never been warned of the dangers of latex and was
never told to minimise her exposure to it after she developed her
allergy.
The guidelines said switching to powder-free gloves
"significantly reduces latex allergy and latex-induced asthma" as they
contain a tenth of the latex of powdered gloves.
Dr Syed Ahmed,
a specialist registrar in occupational medicine at East Kent Hospitals
NHS Trust and guideline leader, said: "The optimal management of latex
allergy in the workplace has been unclear for a long time.
"We're
delighted that our work has looked comprehensively at all the research
and has established evidence-based guidelines to address this important
issue."
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