Why I Don’t Like Gloves For Contagion-Containment-Avoidance

   2020-03-26  Posted in Recommendations

Summary of gloves: Use hand sanitizer a LOT with your gloves. Your skin will thank you. But so will your environment:

I don’t like gloves for prevention of contagions. People put gloves on, and then they touch everything. I mean, EVERYTHING all day from light switches to paperwork to equipment, medical keypads, bags of fluids and never think:

The FIRST thing the glove-wearer touched had Corona on it. Fortunately, and as intended, the virus was intercepted by the gloves. The virus is on the gloves. But for folks wearing gloves, the gloves have largely replaced hand sanitizing: So everything those gloves touch *after* that becomes contaminated with the virus. Later (at any point within 3 days) a person is NOT wearing gloves and handles all those unsanitized, glove-touched surfaces. There you go.

Irony: Person wearing ink-stained, obviously-day-old exam gloves touches his face. There you go.
Here’s the worst part about gloves. When you take them off:
Your first hand is gloved and removed that contaminated other glove. Then your ungloved hand takes off the contaminated OTHER glove. There you go.
Summary of gloves: Use hand sanitizer a LOT with your gloves. Your skin will thank you. But so will your environment:
Author: Dr. Erik Johnson
Dr Erik Johnson is a Marietta, Georgia Veterinarian with a practice in small animal medicine. He graduated from University of Georgia with his Doctorate in 1991. Dr Johnson is the author of several texts on Koi and Pond Fish Health and Disease as well as numerous articles on dog and cat health topics.