Great explanation about risks wearing gloves-Wash/sanitize them vs continual wearing

[uppityperson]

This is from my county public health department and has some really good points to consider.



Wearing disposable gloves offers no protection and could actually increase the spread of infection.

Coronavirus is not absorbed through the skin. For disposable gloves to be effective you must remove and dispose of them each time you touch a contaminated surface. Wearing gloves continuously gives people a false sense of security and reduces hand washing. Gloves become increasingly contaminated and, since they are non-porous, they provide an even better environment for coronavirus than hands. Touching your face or eating food with gloves on is even more dangerous than bare hand contact unless the gloves are new or have been sanitized.

People wearing gloves in public should change the gloves frequently or, at the very least, wash or sanitize them as you would bare hands. Better yet, unless you have an unlimited supply of disposable gloves and change them frequently, abandon the illusion of safety and use your bare hands recognizing that it is our HANDS, gloved or ungloved, that spreads coronavirus. It is picked up from the environment and put into our bodies through our eyes, nose, or mouth or deposited on the food we eat with our unwashed fingers.

Trust your health to clean hands, not gloves you wear all day and seldom sanitize.

[LisaL]

1. I am not using my bare hands, thank you very much.

Of course you need to change gloves. You can also sanitize them-I presume you can use hand sanitizer on them just as you would on your hands. There is only so much hand washing my hands can take, they are already red.

[uppityperson]

2. Yes, you can wash or sanitize gloves. I had to explain this to a grocery teller

that hadn't changed their gloves or sanitized them between people, for hours. Most of use know this, but I thought I'd be nice to share a clear explanation.

[LisaL]

5. Oh I agree that using gloves all day long without changing them is a very bad idea.

I am not doing that, and I use hand sanitizer on my gloves, rather than on my hands. Considering, like I said, my poor hands are already red from all the hand washing. Which I recently found out I was doing wrong all of my life. Lol.
How did we all stay alive until now?

[Flaleftist]

8. I have been seeing a lot of people who have no idea.

They are using gloves, but touching all kinds of things, including their phones, carrying drinks, eating and touching face with them. Gloves can help if used properly, but a lot of people are using them and are clueless and that means less gloves available for people who really need them.

[uppityperson]

10. Exactly, thank you

[StarryNite]

3. The food part is confusing...

Can you get the coronavirus from touching or eating food?
Photo of Esther Mobley
Esther Mobley March 25, 2020 Updated: March 25, 2020 1:26 p.m.

"• Can the coronavirus spread through food? There is no evidence that food has been associated with the transmission of the virus, says the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although more research is still required. “Foodborne exposure to this virus is not known to be a route of transmission,” the CDC says. In general, the virus causes respiratory illness, not gastrointestinal illness."

[link:https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/Can-you-get-the-coronavirus-from-touching-or-15156995.php|

[uppityperson]

9. I agree, think I will contact them tomorrow about that

[StarryNite]

12. Thank you!

[OhNo-Really]

4. I'll keep wearing my sterilized gloves

I carefully remove and drop in to my trunk the groceries and then they get a diluted bleach bath along with everything I buy

I had some because painting

[totodeinhere]

6. I still think that disposable nitrite gloves can offer some measure of protection

from getting it off from a hard surface. But you need to be sure to safely dispose of them and then wash your hands thoroughly and do not touch your face while wearing them.

[Ferrets are Cool]

7. IF I use my gloves more than one, they get washed and or disinfected.

It's only common sense...but then again....

[Yonnie3]

11. I saw a fellow in the grocery with gloves and mask.

I saw him reach up and adjust the mask several times. I think that is worse than using nothing.

[drmeow]

13. I've always found it ridiculous

they way people use gloves incorrectly - its nothing new with this virus!

[babydollhead]

14. the parking lot at grocery store is littered with used gloves. no garbage cans.

also, our garbage collectors walked out today in protest of not having gloves or masks or coveralls.

[GulfCoast66]

15. Last time I posted an innocent opinion on gloves I got my head bit off. But I'll try again.

But I agree with you. Too many people think gloves offer you some “magic” protection when in fact your behavior needs to be just like if you were wearing no gloves.

We take safety deadly serious at work and one of the most dangerous thing in a safety culture are practices that give a false sense of security.

Let me be clear! Nothing wrong with wearing gloves if you follow the same safety rules as if barehanded. With one important addition. The proper procedure for removing them. If you take them off without immediate washing or sanitizing your hands you have now become potentially contaminated. Don’t believe me? Watch your doctor or dentist. The first thing they do when removing the gloves is sanitize their hands.

Skin is impervious to viruses and bacteria. I choose not to wear gloves. But do not judge those that choose to.

[uppityperson]

16. My spouse came home from the grocery store all excited about the teller

taking such good precautions. It took quite a discussion to get the point across that'S in my op.


If you wear gloves, makes sure you are using them properly. Now that there's glove shortages, sanitize them, wash them, reuse them if at all possible. And then your hands too.

For things liked gas pumps, use a doggie poo bag, or get some inexpensive ones at the store vs gloves.

[GulfCoast66]

17. I've taken to carrying a zippy with a stout paper towel saturated in alcohol. Saturated!

It last all day. I wipe down pretty much everything I touch. And my hands regularly.

Ran out of isopropyl but found a 1.75 liter of 151 everclear at the liquor store. Added a little peppermint extract and I’m back in business for a couple of months.