Medical gloves are also known as exam grade gloves and they were designed with the intent to be used during non-surgical medical procedures. Medical or exam grade gloves are the other category of disposable gloves aside from industrial grade gloves. Industrial grade gloves require very rigorous testing so that they meet needed safety and protection requirements, while medical grade only require minimum levels of testing.
Medical gloves are tested so that they can withstand risks that come with dealing with biological hazards. It is important so that workers do not get infected by blood borne pathogens. Therefore, medical grade gloves can be used in a wide variety of applications including hospitals, tattoo shops, salons, and caregiving.
Medical grade gloves are rated using the AQL, or acceptable quality limits. In every batch of medical grade gloves, must rate at an AQL of 2.5 or lower, which means that only 1.5% of a batch is allowed to fail the test. Most exam grade gloves are made from latex, nitrile, and vinyl.
There are a long list of applications that aren’t directly related to the medical field that could utilize medical grade gloves like pharmacists, rescue workers, mechanics, teachers, gardeners, police officers, and housekeepers.
Nitrile gloves offer a lot of added strength and are widely used across lots of medical and non medical uses. They are able to withstand many different chemicals and don’t contribute to any allergy hazards.
Latex gloves are quite comfortable and durable and allow great tactile sensitivity for the wearer, however they can cause lots of allergic reactions for many people.
Vinyl gloves are some of the most economic gloves and are great for clinical applications and can withstand a variety of moderate risks.
