What does need stick resistant mean?
There are various types and categories of safety gloves all offering protection against different hazards. Needle stick resistant gloves, also known as anti-syringe or hypodermic needle resistant gloves, offer protection against hypodermic needles and other thin, sharp items such as thin shards of glass and metal wire.
However, it is a common misconception that puncture resistant gloves also offer protection against needles, as that usually is not the case. Only needle stick resistant gloves protect against very thin sharps like needles. Every needle stick resistant glove must go through a series of rigorous testing, however unlike other categories of gloves, there is no standardised testing rating. It is important to keep in mind that no safety glove is needle stick proof.
Testing for Needle Stick Resistant Gloves
The EN388 standards use regulation testing to test and analyse the performance of various safety gloves against certain hazards including abrasion, cut, puncture and tear. The safety gloves are then rated according to their performance. However, testing specifically for needle stick resistance is not a key part of this testing.
To evaluate puncture resistance of safety gloves, a steel stylus is pressed into the fabric of four samples of the glove. The force required for the stylus to puncture the fabric is the measurement used to rate the gloves. However, because of the size and design of the stylus used, which has a similar thickness to the end of a ball point pen, this is no accurate test against thin, sharp items such as needles, thin wire or glass shards, which penetrate the fabric in a different way.
Manufacturers of needle stick resistant gloves must therefore look to other methods of testing and ensuring that their gloves are needle stick resistant. Southland is proud to stock a range of needle stick resistant gloves from the most trusted brands and manufacturers in the industry.
Uses of Needle Stick Resistant Gloves
While is it is difficult to determine a definitive list of suitable applications for needle stick resistant gloves, the list of applications below details industries and sectors that can benefit from using needle stick resistant gloves to protect workers from the dangers of needle stick injury.
- Waste Collection
- Hospitals
- Waste and recycling sorting
- Laundry and linen handling
- Law enforcement
- Prisons
- Hospital waste handling
Keep in mind that not all needle stick resistant gloves will be suitable for every application above. Manufacturers of needle stick resistant gloves are always looking to enhance their hand protection offering and create safety gloves with multiple hazard protection capabilities. The hazard protection profile of needle stick resistant gloves can differ according to their intended sector use.
When buying needle stick resistant gloves be sure to read the product descriptions thoroughly to assess if they are suitable for your needs and use our product selection filters to choose the safety glove with the correct capabilities for your handling application.
Take a look at Southland’s full range of safety gloves including needle stick resistant gloves.