R Baid1, R Agarwal2. 1. Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, IPGME&R and SSKM Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. 2. Department of Cardiology, IPGME&R and SSKM Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
We are thankful to the authors for taking time to go through our article. We agree with them in that the awareness of the hazards of powdered gloves is low, even though no direct research is available regarding the same. We have already pointed out the risks associated with the use of cornstarch powder including wound infection, peritoneal adhesions, possible life-threatening allergy, and tumor growth.[1]A strong point for alternatives as pointed out by the authors can be made. Apart from powder-free gloves, there have been suggestions that polymer coatings and/or lubricants could possibly offset some risks associated with cornstarch powder. Alternative powders in the form of calcium carbonate and oat starch have also been suggested though data regarding their safety are lacking.[2]