As the season gets colder, everyone should prepare to combat the seasonal flu and other illnesses. The body can be susceptible to dry hands and other respiratory illnesses as the weather becomes colder. Never fear though, SW Sustainability products are available to help prepare for the upcoming colder season!
Harvard Medical School explains that dry skin arises from the inability to retain moisture in your skin. The colder season, having less humidity, dry indoor heat, and harsh windy weather, all lead to harsh conditions for your skin. Dry skin, particularly dry hands can then result in contact dermatitis (skin irritation). More than 9 million physician office visits are related to contact dermatitis each year in the United States. OSHA also reports that dermatitis accounts for 15% to 20% of all reported occupational diseases in this nation. With such a prevalent issue at hand, there are of course many solutions. Obviously you can apply moisturizers, use a humidifier, and try to stay away from harsh skin irritants as a precaution. However, these solutions are not immediate, or convenient when in a working environment. This is where SW Safety products can showcase our consumer oriented and innovative technologies. Our gloves (PowerForm and TrueForm series) contain EnerGel, and all other glove series except for those containing DriTek are tested for the FDA’s low dermatitis potential claim – meaning the FDA has approved of this statement after clinical trials on a minimum of 200 people for skin sensitization with all negative results. EnerGel is our patented, next-generation technology using Aloe Vera to immediately deliver healthier, more hydrated skin. These two technologies combined will definitely help protect consumers against the seasonal conditions afflicting dry skin.
Another thing to take precaution against is the seasonal flu. The CDC states that between fall and winter is peak flu season, along with other respiratory diseases like COVID-19. Wearing masks and getting vaccinated is the best form of protection against transmission of illnesses from being in close contact with others. However, people are less aware of protection against indirect contact transmission by hand contact. Hands may touch contaminated surfaces and then transfer disease causing agents into the body, most commonly through the oral area (mouth/nose). This can be simply from forgetting to wash your hands and then having a meal. The best preventative measure is to disinfect surfaces and use gloves to further minimize direct hand to area transmission.
In the context of COVID-19 and the cold season, there is an increasing need to frequently use disposable gloves. Unfortunately, the scarcity of disposable gloves in the industry due to the COVID-19 epidemic has forced many glove personnel to forgo more frequent glove changes and proceed with the next best protocol. The WHO (World Health Organization) has advised that personnel must use hand sanitizer intermittently on gloved hands if they do not have the resources to change gloves between each patient or session. As a result, there is an increasing concern about the puncture strength of disposable nitrile gloves after the rpeated use of alcohol based hand sanitizers. Our research and development team conducted EN 388 puncture tests and found that there were no significant changes in the puncture resistant values of SW’s single use nitrile gloves. Additionally, we offer Breach Alert technology in our disposable nitrile gloves. The dual color provides immediate visual indication of any breach. Another protection our gloves offer is proven resistance to fentanyl and gastric acid for as long as 4 hours following ASTM D6978-05 protocols. Our products are tailored with strict standards that align with medical grade standards, ensuring that we have accounted for our consumers’ protection in their working environments.
While many of our products are medical grade, they can be used in all fields. SW Safety’s disposable gloves can even be worn when using common household disinfectants. Our Coresafe series consists of natural rubber to protect against many acids, alkalis, and strong chemicals. They should be used with commercial disinfectants which contain higher concentrations of bleach (roughly around 13% more than common household disinfectants). The largest commonality of all SW products is comfortability without diminishing returns on quality. All of our glove series prioritizes ease in wearability and strict clinical testing against the highest industry standards.