I also have considered going without. The actual benefits of safety in the field provided by gloves have never been entirely clear to me. In a clean and well controlled environment working on a minor wound gloves likely help protect both parties. In the woods, rolling in the mud, large bloody wounds, and mass casualty sites that resemble an ill kept abattoir the advantage is much less clear.
To your point Art, I was once the first responder at an accident where two bikers were smashed up by a dump truck. After the paramedics arrived and took over, I was cleaning up and noticed a fresh cut on my hand. I had no recollection of when or how it happened. I only knew that it happened on the scene. I wore 2 pairs of latex gloves, changing the outter pair, went through several pairs, and didn't notice the cut until I was done. That was the moment I realized I no longer had the stomache to be an EMT. (I felt a little better knowing my hepatitis and tetanus shots were up to date.)
Sue's right. There are no guarantees. I might have been better off with a thicker outter pair of gloves. Rubber dish/chemical gloves maybe?
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