Hydrating Surgeons' Hands: Ansell introduces HydraSoft® Coating Technology
06 June 2005
Ansell Healthcare Europe, the global leader in hand protection solutions, announces the launch of HydraSoft®, an innovative hydrating coating technology for surgical gloves. Designed to retain moisture and rehydrate users' skin during use, HydraSoft® has been specifically developed for surgeons' hands, to help maintain the skin's natural barrier function.
Frequent hand-washing and the use of alcohol-based disinfectants can attack the natural moisturizers present in the skin. In many cases, this barrier breakdown results in Irritant Contact Dermatitis, with redness and swelling of the skin and associated itching or burning. With chronic exposure, symptoms may worsen, with the skin thickening, drying or cracking. The resulting dry, cracked skin opens a migration path for irritants, allergens and micro organisms. Extended glove wearing and hyperhydration (resulting from skin being bathed in perspiration for long periods) render skin soggy and easily eroded. The combined action of scrubbing with soaps and antiseptics, and continued glove use contribute to attacking the protective barrier constituted by healthy skin. This in turn enables allergy by affording a portal of entry for allergens.
A survey of UK NHS staff showed that 43% had signs or symptoms of irritant dermatitis or allergic contact dermatitis, and 10% showed latex hypersensitivity. Contact dermatitis disrupts the skin's natural barrier function and may predispose to the development of latex allergy.
Composed of neutral, odourless ingredients in the gloves' inner lining, HydraSoft® Technology is designed to protect skin from drying, cracking and penetration by foreign substances. HydraSoft® contains a skin-friendly, humectant moisturiser combined with Dimethicone, which forms a protective barrier that blocks attacks from foreign substances and prevents the skin from drying out. HydraSoft®'s hydrating qualities even outlast glove use; laboratory tests have shown that after only one hour of wearing gloves with HydraSoft® Technology, most users' hands revealed an increase of 47% in retained moisture content 5 minutes after removal and of 98% after 30 minutes.
Until now, Ansell Healthcare has offered healthcare professionals four ways to reduce the risks of contracting contact dermatitis and latex allergies: using powder-free gloves, choosing gloves with a synthetic inner lining, selecting gloves with a low protein content formulation and reduced chemical residues and switching to synthetic gloves. Ansell has gone one step further in providing an appropriate range of options: wearing gloves integrating HydraSoft® Technology.
Ansell plans to first introduce HydraSoft® coating technology into its best-selling powderfree latex surgical glove, Gammex® PF. Results from user tests in Germany and Finland have established that Gammex® PF HydraSoft® gloves are noticeably easier to don and remove, due to the enhanced lubrication provided by the coating. The introduction of HydraSoft® has also permitted a modified formulation, resulting in a softer, more supple glove. This in turn resulted in high scores on "sensitivity". The company has announced that it will integrate HydraSoft® into other products within its medical glove range.
