FDA: Powdered Medical Gloves Are Dangerous and Should Be Banned

By Kristin J. Kelley

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD

The FDA has announced a plan to ban most powdered medical gloves (e.g., surgical gloves, patient exam gloves, and powder used to lubricate surgical gloves). Powdered surgical gloves are easier to put on and take off, but they pose a substantial risk to anyone exposed to them, the agency warns.

Aerosolized glove powder on latex gloves can lead to respiratory allergic reactions. Potential risks from powdered synthetic gloves include postsurgical adhesions, severe airway inflammation, and wound inflammation.

The ban, which would mean taking the gloves off the market, would not apply to non-powdered patient examination or surgeon gloves. The proposal marks only the second time in history the FDA has recommended banning a medical supply, the Associated Press reports. (The first was back in 1983, when it banned fake hair implants.)