A skin varnish and substitute for rubber gloves / by Ellice McDonald.

  • McDonald, Ellice, 1876-1955.
Date:
[between 1910 and 1919?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A skin varnish and substitute for rubber gloves / by Ellice McDonald. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    A SKIN VARNISH AND SUBSTITUTE FOR RUBBER GLOVES. By ELLICE MCDONALD, M.D., NEW YORK. Rubber operating gloves are such an article of re- ligion with modern surgeons that he who suggests their elimination is thought heretical; yet they have their obvious disadvantages. They are not easy to operate with, particularly in intestinal operations, where the slippery gut eludes the grasp. The sense of touch is decidedly altered and deadened, not only by the interposition of the rubber itself, but also by the constriction of the fingers by the elastic tissue. These drawbacks would not be considered were gloves perfectly safe in regard to infection. They are difficult to sterilize and require fifteen minutes’ boiling in water, or one hour in the steam sterilizer at 120° with 15 pounds pressure. Braun (Beitrdge zur klin. Chir., 1908, LXIV. 2) found that when tightly wrapped rubber gloves required one hour’s steam sterilization; three-quarters of an hour did not suffice unless the gloves were loosely packed and the fingers distended by cotton. He favors placing a cotton glove inside the rubber in order that the Copyright, William Wood 4 Company.