Disposable gloves are one of the most important pieces of equipment in your medical kit. Used widely in medical examinations and various sensitive medical settings, they are vital for preventing cross-contamination between patients and health-care workers. According to the World Health Organisation, gloves should be used during all patient-care activities. Properly fitting gloves can help to improve performance and provide comfort ensuring efficiency to your task. Finding perfectly fitting gloves is vital. It is important therefore to properly measure your hand size. Here at SHD Medical we offer information on gloves sizes as well as providing a general guide on how to measure your hand to fit disposable gloves.
Sizes
Different brands of disposable gloves may offer different sizes. Common disposable gloves range from extra small (XS) to extra large (XL). Some manufacturers include an extra-extra large (XXL) size. Some manufacturers use inches to size their gloves, while others use centimetres. It is therefore important to read about the type of disposable gloves you are buying to ensure you understand the differences. Once you have measured your hand, use the general size guide table below to convert your measurement to assess the right size glove for you.
Measuring Your Hand
To measure your hand
size, wrap a tape measure around the palm at its widest point, excluding the
thumb. When measuring for glove size, you should use your dominant hand to do
so. The tape measure should be wrapped over the top of your hand and across
your palm at the fullest point. Record the size of your hand at this point ininches.
Then, measure lengthways.
Spread your hand and fingers and place the tape measure at the tip of your
middle finger. Stretch the tape measure taut to where your wrist begins andrecord the length of your hand at this point in inches.
In order to assess your glove size, choose the larger of the two figures and round up. For example, if the measurement around your hand was 6 inches and the lengthways measurement was 6 ¾ inches, you need to take the 6 ¾ figure and round up. Your glove size would therefore be 7 inches (size XS for men, size M for women).
Size Guide Table
Use this handy table to convert your measurement into letter sizes. Please note: this is a general sizing table. Some particular disposable glove brands offer their own sizing charts for your convenience.
| Size | Inches | Centimetres |
| XS | 7 | 18 |
| S | 7.5 - 8 | 20 |
| M | 8.5 - 9 | 23 |
| L | 9.5 - 10 | 25 |
| XL | 10.5 - 11 | 28 |
| XXL | 11.5 + | 30 |
| Size | Inches | Centimetres |
| XS | 6 | 15 |
| S | 6.5 | 17 |
| M | 7 | 18 |
| L | 7.5 | 19 |
| XL | 8 | 20 |
| XXL | 8.5 | 22 |
Disposable Glove Brands
Here at SHD Medical we stock a wide range of disposable gloves to suit every need. Ranging from brands such as Auerelia, Gloveman, Unigloves, Yala, Nutouch and many more, you are bound to find the prefect-fitting gloves for your hands.
Sources:
https://www.adenna.com/uses-of-disposable-gloves
https://www.who.int
https://www.grainger.com/content/qt-choosing-the-right-disposable-glove-394
https://www.palmflex.com/glove-sizing.html
