What Are Nitrile Gloves Best Used For?

When it comes to personal protective equipment (PPE), gloves remain one of those items that are essential to many professions. Due to the critical nature of this equipment, it is often the first step towards building your PPE kit.

Depending upon the industry you work in, you can choose from various glove materials that help you maintain your safety while performing your duties.

One of these materials is nitrile, which often shines through as a ubiquitous choice in gloves. No matter where you look, nitrile gloves are easily available through many vendors. See more here if you want to have your own nitrile gloves.

This can often make you wonder whether these distinctively colored gloves are the right fit for your profession. Do they hold their own against certain materials? Do they offer constant protection to the wearer? Do they deliver on the cost-saving aspects?

To help you answer these questions, here’s a lowdown on nitrile and the most common applications of its gloves.

What Are Nitrile Gloves Made From?

Nitrile is a synthetic polymer that is made from acrylonitrile and butadiene. This makes it different from natural rubber or latex, which is obtained from the rubber tree. As a result, nitrile equipment steers clear of allergens such as those found in latex.

The overall manufacturing process for nitrile remains quite safe, which makes sure that these gloves can be easily produced in mass quantity. This adds to nitrile’s overall accessibility and makes it widely available to professionals across various fields.

The Material Comes With a Few Standout Features

Nitrile comes with exceptionally high strength, and the material retains this quality even when used in equipment such as gloves. It’s due to the composition of nitrile’s two copolymers, which results in a durable material resistant to regular punctures and tears.

This application makes nitrile ideal for scenarios where exposure of any kind could be dangerous to the wearer. Since nitrile has fewer chances of accidental tears than many other materials, it is lauded for its protection against several health hazards.

In addition to this standout feature, nitrile gloves also hold the quality of being resistant against most chemicals. This feature also extends to other common substances such as organic materials and oils. This makes sure that your gloves can withstand constant usage against these substances.

What Are the Ideal Applications for These Gloves?

Now that you understand the common features and qualities of nitrile, it would be easier for you to see the applications where its gloves perform the best.

These applications range across various industries. But they remain just as productive throughout their different use cases.

Healthcare Settings

With its overall durability against exposure to organic substances, nitrile proves to be an excellent material for PPE in medical uses.

The material’s ability to resist tears and punctures works wonders with the quality of being able to prevent leakage. This allows nitrile gloves to keep biohazards such as viruses and pathogens at bay.

This means that these gloves can be worn constantly and for extended periods of time without fear of breakage. This allows medical professionals such as bioscientists and lab assistants to keep their gloves on without having to change them frequently.

But that’s not all. These gloves also make for ideal PPE during patient checkups and surgical settings. With their resistance to oils and other liquids, they provide immense protection from blood and bodily fluids. This makes them ideal for healthcare workers such as nurses, doctors, dentists, and veterinarians.

This usage is also optimal in any surgical scenario. But it is even more relevant in viral treatment settings such as those involving coronavirus (COVID-19) patients. Apart from intensive surgeries, this also applies to procedures such as invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV).

Chemical Handling

Since nitrile is resistant to many chemicals, it is only logical that this particular material is used for protective gloves during chemical handling. With the ability to hold their own against exposure to many of these substances, these gloves provide an optimal protection level to the user in various settings.

Since nitrile gloves don’t degenerate intensively after minimal exposure to some chemicals, you can continue wearing the same pair of gloves for each use session. This especially holds for low exposure settings such as lab controlled experiments or product handling.

This makes sure that you don’t have to compromise between productivity and safety, which allows you to add some convenience to your work processes. With that being said, you must check the manufacturer’s rating for degradation and permeation for ideal protection.

This particular point is highly essential because nitrile can react differently to various chemicals. As long as you refer to the material’s specific reaction to certain substances, you can use it safely in your low-risk processes.

Tattoo Artists

Imprinting permanent imagery on people who cherish it for a lifetime is no mean feat. It gets even more complicated when you factor in the safety practices against organic substances you need to adhere to as a tattoo artist.

While vinyl gloves don’t provide an excellent grip, latex gloves can trigger your or your clients’ allergies. In comparison, nitrile gloves not only provide a snug fit, but they also remain clear of allergens.

Due to their resistance against organic substances, these gloves can help you protect yourself from close contact with clients and the droplets of blood present during the process.

Since these gloves don’t tear easily, they ensure that they remain in place even after constant exposure to needles and consistent maneuvering around your tools. This ensures that you are not working with unfounded leaks and tears in your essential PPE.

This also makes these gloves a cost-effective solution that you can switch out before each session. As a result, you can keep yourself and your clients protected against any health risks without affecting your art.

They Are Also Used in Other Settings

Gloves that are made out of nitrile are also used in various other settings such as food processing or construction. While nitrile boasts more durability, those industries can easily use other materials as secondary options due to the low risk or more intensive protection involved in the application.

With that being said, nitrile easily stands out of the crowd of common glove materials due to its easy accessibility and easy accessibility. If you are looking for an ideal hand PPE for organic or common non-organic substances, this material might be the perfect choice for you.