Those disposable gloves don't really help prevent Covid-19

Wearing disposable gloves does not necessarily protect you from Covid-19, and may indeed help spread germs. — Filepic

People want to debate whether wearing a mask works against Covid-19, but the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it’s the gloves you should take off.

Both the US and European CDCs have released guidelines stating that glove use isn’t a necessary preventive tactic when it comes to Covid-19.

The US CDC guidelines say gloves “will not necessarily protect you from getting Covid-19 and may still lead to the spread of germs”.

Gloves can trick the wearer into complacency, says University of Chicago Infection Control Program Pediatric associate medical director Allison Bartlett, adding that gloves are not a substitute for good hand hygiene.

“I think that disposable surgical gloves don’t really have a place in coronavirus (protection),” she says.

“People get the false sense of security that their hands are clean and protected when that’s not the case at all.”

She points out that you might accidentally contaminate your hands in removing gloves, so if you don’t wash your hands after you take your gloves off, your hands aren’t clean – assuming that your hands were clean when you put the gloves on.

“You might feel protected because your skin is not touching a surface,” she says, but as soon as you move from touching that surface to touching your mask or face, that’s contamination, even if you are wearing gloves.

“And you’ve accomplished nothing in the way of safety.”

According to the US CDC guidelines, reusable gloves can be used while dishwashing or deep cleaning your home, but this is more about protecting your hands than transmission prevention, she says.

The US CDC also recommends wearing disposable gloves if you’re taking care of someone who is sick and there is an increased risk of coming in contact with their secretions.

Gloves are most needed in medical settings where healthcare workers know how to use them, Bartlett says.

Widespread use of gloves by the general public can deplete the supplies of those who need them most.

She says that there is not the same level of shortage now as when the pandemic started, but keeping up that supply is more difficult as the pandemic continues.

She says that there’s also an environmental aspect to consider – gloves are single use.

“The only thing that irks me more than seeing people out and about in the grocery store with gloves, is on my walk home from the the hospital when I see the new Covid-19 garbage on the ground,” she shares.

In preventing the spread of Covid-19, Bartlett says it’s important to focus on what works.

“It’s all that we can do to redirect people’s energy, anxiety and wanting to keep themselves and others safe to the activities we know are really impactful, like staying home, wearing a mask when you’re out in public, washing your hands and keeping frequently touched surfaces clean.” – Lauren Leazenby/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service