Saturday, August 2, 2014

Why People Use Work Gloves

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By Miranda Sweeney


The protective gear that people use in many different occupations is an essential part of their professional equipment. The human body is susceptible to harm from various sources, and in some jobs protective clothing is not merely an optional item. Modern industry is rife with hazards and potential injuries, so taking safety seriously is not negotiable. Choosing the right work gloves is part of that attitude.

Gloves are used to protect their wearer against several kinds of hazard. The most common one is physical injury through strain, friction or incision. Even the handles of basic tools like pliers or axes can lead to grazes and calluses, or muscular trouble. Some workers don't wear hand protection when using these tools, since their hands are accustomed to them. But even they sometimes cut themselves or lose fingers, injuries which would not have happened if they had invested more in their safety clothing.

Then there is temperature. Heat is a common factor in industrial applications and the human hand cannot withstand it for very long or beyond a relatively moderate temperature. Even a household geyser can generate water that is hot enough to cause pain within seconds. Burns are serious injuries because they take time to heal and they are at risk of infection.

But it isn't only heat which is a factor. Extreme cold also requires protective measures. People who work in frigid environments needs to use gloves that are both protective and enable enough dexterity for the wearer to perform their tasks. One sometimes sees reports of mountaineers who removed their gloves in an emergency and suffered from frostbite.

Industry sometimes also involves the use of poisonous or corrosive chemicals. The human body cannot withstand these chemicals. Some of them destroy tissue or cause death in minutes. Biological waste, such as medical refuse, may contain infectious viruses or bacteria, some of them terminal in nature.

Corrosion is a notorious characteristic of some common industrial substances. Acids are the most popular among these, but there are others, such as benzene. Another example is caustic soda, which requires the worker to use PVC clothing, which in turn only lasts a few hours. The right material to use is determined by the chemical involved and how concentrated it is.

There are laboratory workers and medical staff who are tasked with handling samples of infectious illnesses. Gloves give these staff a sense of reassurance, allowing them to maintain a more positive attitude in dealing with their patients or research. For example, in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, needle-stick injuries are a common accident and result in the infection of the practitioner. This also happens with other diseases. Exposure to internal bodily fluids, especially during surgery, is a serious risk and is not tolerated in modern medical practice. Medical personnel usually use gossamer-thin latex gloves (which allow surgeons greater freedom of movement) or the thicker nitrile variety.

Some work would be physically impossible without using safety equipment. If a worker loses the use of their hand(s), even partially, they may become useless in their industry. Taking your income in your hands might be more expensive than taking ordinary safety measures.




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