Wearing gloves when running necessary errands might seem like a wise way to protect yourself from COVID-19, but health officials are warning against it.
While ideal in certain settings and when used correctly, gloves can actually spread more germs than not wearing them at all, according to Dr. Aalok Khole, an infectious disease physician at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene.
Though they provide a physical barrier between your hands and a shopping cart, the gloves themselves harbor germs that will then be carried from place to place, Khole said.
“Gloves tend to create this false sense of security, and there is reduced hand hygiene because you think your hands are protected,” he explained. “… People who don’t typically wear gloves may not know how to wear them, and if there is a rip or tear in the gloves, you are going to contaminate your hands.”
Health-care professionals and food handlers — two groups of employees who should wear gloves — have been properly trained in their use, according to Mary Pierce, infection preventionist at Cheshire Medical.
“Health care teams have a high risk of exposure or transmission given the environment they are in, and with food, again there is a high risk of transmission with food preparation areas to the general public related to transmission of diseases through consumption,” she said in an email. “It is imperative that those who use gloves are trained in how to wear and remove them.”
And there are a few times when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends their use by the general public to protect against COVID-19, including when caring for someone who has the virus.
But practicing good hand washing is the best way to prevent infection from COVID-19 and other viruses, Khole said.
The N.H. Department of Health and Human Services recommends washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds at a time. If soap and water isn’t available, the agency advises using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
This will kill the germs and prevent them from getting in contact with parts of the body where you can contract an illness, such as hands, nose and mouth.
Hands should be washed or sanitized after each stop in public, after coughing or sneezing and when arriving back at home, according to the state health department’s website.
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