Do I need to use gloves?

While not everyone uses gloves it is often recomended and many do use gloves. For a complete description on the pros and cons on this issue, look under health issues and learn more about this subject so you can make the decision that is best for you and your partner. If you decide to use gloves, here are the basic types and guidelines.

Latex Gloves

The most commonly used and widely available, latex gloves are easy to get and use. They will protect you the same way a latex condom will, however, since most people use an oil based lubricant for fisting, they will degrade and eventually break. Most people find that changing the gloves every so often as the best solution to this problem. Be aware, that if you are highly safety conscious and feel that the protection from a latex glove to not be sufficient, then you would want to use one of the other types listed below.

Polyurethane Gloves

Polyurethane gloves are, as the name states, non-latex and will not degrade or break with the use of a grease-based lubricant. While not as common, they can still be found at many drugstores or specialty pharmacies. If you wish to purchase these online, go see Gloves and Lubricants in the Resources section. If you are familiar with Avanti or ___ Condoms, these are also made from Polyurethane.

Nitrile Gloves

Becoming more common, especially among some fisting circles, Nitrile Gloves are made from ___ and are probably the safest gloves available today. Similar to the polyurethane gloves, they are compatible with oil based lubricants, and they are also non-latex. You can distinguish them as they are thicker in feel and often come in brighter colors such as light blue or purple. See Resources for places to purchase them.