ABSTRACT
Prevention of occupationally transmitted infectious diseases is of major concern to health care workers. In this context, increasing emphasis upon the so-called universal precautions translates into increased use of protective gloves. With the increased use of gloves has come an enhanced recognition of two general entities: glove dermatitis and latex allergy. Th ese two diagnostic categories are overlapping, but not synonymous. Glove dermatitis is a subcategory of hand dermatitis, in this case resulting from glovewearing. Latex allergy, on the other hand, is generally an immediate (Type I) allergic reaction to antigens from the rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis.* A variety of preexisting skin diseases (and susceptibility states) may underlie a clinical state of glove dermatitis, and, at times, must be distinguished from allergy as a causal factor. Further, although skin symptoms are the most frequently recognized manifestation of latex allergy, the respiratory tract (and cardiovascular system) can also be aff ected, at times in the absence of skin lesions. Th ese complex relationships are schematized in Figure 19.1, and alluded to in the following case study and ensuing discussion.
