Back in the 80’s before AIDS (Acquired Immune deficiency syndrome), the non sterile latex gloves people wore (if they even bothered to wear them) were white.
People did not practice aseptic practices as they do today. There were no laws in place even suggesting that people wear glove (aside from surgeons)
Food servers, Dentists, Gynecologists, Proctologists and everyone else did not wear gloves when they touched food or worked on people (pretty gross huh?).
After the discovery of AIDS in 1983, slowly the world became aware of the need to protect themselves and others from the spread of germs and diseases. Practicing proper asepsis became the norm over time. It happened quickly, (within 3-5 years but not immediately)
“Asepsis is a state of freedom from pathogenic microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and viruses. It is not the same thing as sterility, where no such organisms are present, not even organisms not believed to be infectious. In medical settings, care providers use a number of procedures to create and maintain asepsis for patient safety. Many nations have laws with specific mandates about maintaining aseptic clinical exam rooms, operating rooms, and so forth, and individual facilities have additional policies developed and enforced by safety officers and consultants concerned with hospital-acquired infections.
The idea of creating aseptic working conditions for medical care developed in the 1800s, when clinicians realized simple steps like washing their hands before procedures could cut down substantially on the spread of infection. Researchers examined the origins and spread of disease and used this information to develop guidelines for asepsis. Standardizing these guidelines to create safe working conditions reduced the risks of hospital-acquired infections, as well as post-procedure complications.
“Some examples of techniques used for asepsis include washing hands, wiping down surfaces in clinical exam rooms, requiring patients to wear hospital gowns, and applying soaps and antibacterial products to the skin of patients before procedures like surgeries. Medical supply companies produce a number of products for aseptic procedure, including cleaning supplies, patient washes, and shields to limit fluid splashback during procedures. Care providers use multiple tactics to combat pathogenic organisms to create layers of security.
When people are in training to become medical providers, their instructors provide them with information about asepsis and sterilization. During clinical rotations where people have an opportunity to care for patients, they also learn about aspetic procedures and have an opportunity to practice while under the guidance of experienced care providers. During training, people may also learn about checklists and other tools used to enforce compliance with aseptic procedures in facilities like hospitals and clinics.” S.E.Smith.
Boxes of Latex Gloves were not in every examining room. They were used in moderate amounts in Prisons and rarely even thought about in most practices.
As news spread through the media concerning the new AIDS virus, doctors and dentists expressed a need to protect themselves from this blood born
virus. At that time, in 1983, the request for non-sterile disposable latex gloves began to emerge in the market place through medical supply companies. There were not a lot of gloves available at first. There was only two manufacturers of Latex Gloves in the United States. They were
Johnson and Johnson and Tillotson. The demand was higher than the supply. In 1984, factories quickly opened up in China, Taiwan and at that time Hong Kong.
As the demand grew, a balloon factory in Mexico began producing white latex exam gloves. Three entrepreneurs, Dr Terrance Berman, Mark Rustad and Enrique Salcedo got together and came up with an ingenious idea to
dye the gloves pink and blue for the dental office staffs so they would be happy wearing the gloves.
At first, people only wanted the white gloves but over time word spread through the dental offices that there was a company that was distributing these pretty gloves that “made your hands sing.” (The FDA did not agree that gloves could make hands sing because hands have no mouths or voices and therefore are unable to sing so the company has to modify the advertising after a year or so.) Needless to say the gloves were a hit so they were made for two years in pink(Bazooka Bubble Gum Pink), blue (Smurf blue) and white (that is a color too you know).
This was just the beginning. The demand grew into hospitals, food service organizations, Fire and Emergency Services, prisons, funeral homes, tattoo
parlors and home health services. There was not enough supply in the world. There was a shortage and factories continued to open and existing factories added additional lines to try to meet the demand. After two years three more colors were added to the line. They were Yellow, Green and Orange. The years past and the dental office staff repeatedly requested request for purple (Barney colored). Last of all, in the early 2000’s Tattoo parlors wanted black so they were also made.(Black was very difficult because it was hard to clean the black die off of the hand molds that were used but it was one nonetheless.
So now the world had Pink, Blue, Yellow, Green, Orange, Purple, Black and White latex gloves. So that is the story of where colored latex gloves came from.
But wait, there is more. Businesses evolve and so does the market place. After 15 years of use, a few people began to experience latex allergies and the product evolved from being made of latex to being made of Nitrile and some other hypoallergenic materials.
Additional interesting facts:
There was no regulations in place by OSHA until 1992 requiring gloves and other protective wear be provided and worn by healthcare workers.
The following is the blurb in the OSHA mandates requiring protective wear like gloves be worn and mandating reporting of incidents of exposure to blood borne illnesses whether it be through a splash or a needle stick.
1910.1030(d)(3)(ii)
Use. The employer shall ensure that the employee uses appropriate personal protective equipment unless the employer shows that the employee temporarily and briefly declined to use personal protective equipment when, under rare and extraordinary circumstances, it was the employee’s professional judgment that in the specific instance its use would have prevented the delivery of health care or public safety services or would have posed an increased hazard to the safety of the worker or co-worker. When the employee makes this judgement, the circumstances shall be investigated and documented in order to determine whether changes can be instituted to prevent such occurrences in the future.
1910.1030(d)(3)(iii)
Accessibility. The employer shall ensure that appropriate personal protective equipment in the appropriate sizes is readily accessible at the worksite or is issued to employees. Hypoallergenic gloves, glove liners, powderless gloves, or other similar alternatives shall be readily accessible to those employees who are allergic to the gloves normally provided.
1910.1030(d)(3)(iv)
The following are the dates of revised OSHA standard for protection from blood borne pathogens. It really is an interesting read if you have 5 minutes to go http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=10051 and read this.
56 FR 64004, Dec. 06, 1991, as amended at 57 FR 12717, April 13, 1992; 57 FR 29206, July 1, 1992; 61 FR 5507, Feb. 13, 1996; 66 FR 5325 Jan., 18, 2001; 71 FR 16672 and 16673, April 3, 2006; 73 FR 75586, Dec. 12, 2008; 76 FR 33608, June 8, 2011; 76 FR 80740, Dec. 27, 2011; 77 FR 19934, April 3, 2012]