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Wearing gloves in the hospital

Infection control - wearing gloves; Patient safety - wearing gloves; Personal protective equipment - wearing gloves; PPE - wearing gloves; Nosocomial infection - wearing gloves; Hospital acquired infection - wearing gloves

Gloves are a type of personal protective equipment (PPE). Other types of PPE are gowns, masks, face shields, protective eyewear, shoe and head covers.

Gloves create a barrier between germs and your hands. Wearing gloves in the hospital helps prevent the spread of germs.

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Why Wear Gloves

Wearing gloves helps protect both patients and health care workers from infection.

When to Wear Gloves

Gloves help keep your hands clean and lessen your chance of getting germs that can make you sick.

Wear gloves every time you touch blood, bodily fluids, bodily tissues, mucous membranes, or broken skin. You should wear gloves for this sort of contact, even if a patient seems healthy and has no signs of any germs.

Choose the Right Gloves

Containers of disposable gloves should be available in any room or area where patient care takes place.

Gloves come in different sizes, so make sure you choose the right size for a good fit.

• If the gloves are too big, it is hard to hold objects and easier for germs to get inside your gloves.
• Gloves that are too small are more likely to rip.

Some cleaning and care procedures require sterile or surgical gloves. Sterile means "free from germs." These gloves come in numbered sizes (5.5 to 9). Know your size ahead of time.

If you will be handling chemicals, check the material safety data sheet to see what kind of gloves you will need.

Do not use oil-based hand creams or lotions unless they are approved for use with latex gloves.

If you have a latex allergy, use non-latex gloves and avoid contact with other products that contain latex.

Removing Gloves

When you take gloves off, make sure the outsides of the gloves do not touch your bare hands. Follow these steps:

• Using your left hand, grab the outer side of your right glove at the wrist.
• Pull toward your fingertips. The glove will turn inside out.
• Hold onto the empty glove with your left hand.
• Put 2 right-hand fingers in your left glove.
• Pull toward your fingertips until you have pulled the glove inside out and off your hand. The right glove will be inside the left glove now.
• Throw the gloves away in an approved waste container.

Always use new gloves for each patient. Wash your hands between patients to avoid passing germs.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) website. NIOSH directory of personal protective equipment. www.cdc.gov/niosh/ppe/default.html. Updated August 2, 2021. Accessed February 12, 2024.

Palmore TN. Infection prevention and control in the health care setting. In: Bennett JE, Dolin R, Blaser MJ, eds. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 298.

Sokolove PE, Moulin A. Standard precautions and infectious exposure management. In: Roberts JR, Custalow CB, Thomsen TW, eds. Roberts and Hedges' Clinical Procedures in Emergency Medicine and Acute Care. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2019:chap 68.

US Food and Drug Administration website. Medical gloves. www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equipment-infection-control/medical-gloves. Updated March 12, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2024.

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Review Date: 2/3/2024  

Reviewed By: Frank D. Brodkey, MD, FCCM, Associate Professor, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

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