[Histonet] Re: Are Gloves a CAP regulation?

[Osborn, Sharon]

	As many of you, I have worked several lifetimes in histology
including using bare hands to lift specimens out of formalin.  However, I
began wearing gloves in the early 1970's because I developed sensitivity to
the formalin--fingers being numb, stinging sensations, etc.  In these later
years, I notice sensitivity to xylene--yes, it is slow going doing
coverslipping with gloves when need to do hand 'slipping.    I wear gloves
for embedding because there is still some carryover of the xylene in the
paraffins, even in the #3 paraffin.  As we have become more educated about
our hazardous, we know that xylene travels through our fatty tissue and
lodges in the liver where it remains..  Nitrile gloves also resist xylene
longer than latex.  I don't wear gloves when microtoming paraffin sections
unless it is for RNAse studies--then it is a requirement to keep my RNAse
from contaminating the study material.  I do wear gloves while using the
cryostat.
	I had not noticed anyone mentioning sensitivity problems to the
chemicals or the possible health hazards to us with absorbing the chemicals
through our skin.  We have plenty of people telling us about the smell of
chemicals when they come by and that tends to be addressed more quickly.  

Sharon Osborn
DNAX
Palo Alto, CA


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