Best Practices for Disposable Glove Use

One of the top priorities of any operation should be personal hygiene, specifically handwashing and hand care. Additionally, the best practices for disposable glove use are urged. These are critical processes. Maintaining a proactive focus on this key aspect of your operation is important.

It cannot be stressed strongly enough how important handwashing is to minimizing the spread of potentially harmful pathogens (bacterial and viral).

Disposable gloves can be a key component of a personal hygiene plan. However, there are right and wrong ways to use gloves. Be sure to understand, and make sure your employees follow, best practices for glove use.

Gloves: The Do’s and Don’ts

While smart handwashing is one way to keep safe, many operations require the use of gloves. But, gloves are not a sure-fire bacterial barrier unless handled properly.

For proper and effective disposable glove use, consider these points:

• Workers must pay close attention to what they are touching – Gloves are not durable, and especially during repetitive processes, many gloves leak because of pinhole-sized punctures that may not be noticed by the worker.
• Workers must pay attention to how long gloves have been worn – The warm and moist environment inside the gloves is a positive environment for growing resident bacteria.
• Glove changes need to be made often – Workers’ gloved hands do not feel dirty, which can lead to more bacterial transfer to other surfaces. Change gloves often and in conjunction with single-pass handwashing.
• Sharing of gloves is never a good idea.

Let’s stop the spread of potentially harmful pathogens by establishing, maintaining, and reinforcing a comprehensive set of policies and procedures focused on personal hygiene within our operations. With forethought and diligence in this area, a great deal of contamination can be prevented.