Glove Safety: Protection At Home and On-The-Go

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DISCLAIMER: This isn’t medical advice. Always follow the latest CDC guidelines.

Sometimes in life, we find ourselves in interesting situations, don’t we? And unfortunately, it isn’t always positive. Such is the situation the world is currently in. There’s a lot of advice flying around and I’m choosing to leave that to the experts. However, with a background as an RN in critical care, I do want to be sure you know how to properly remove your gloves if you have chosen to wear them. Glove safety is important and can be practiced both at home and on-the-go!

Glove Safety

For the purposes of this article, I’m focusing on the proper removal of gloves. I’m not endorsing whether or not you should or shouldn’t wear them. For all of those questions, I will direct you to the CDC and WHO.

The idea came to me while watching TV coverage late last week. An ER physician was being interviewed and he was asked to inform the audience on the correct glove removal procedure. Great question, I thought! Unless you are in the medical field or have a specific reason, you probably have never had to think about this.

As I eagerly anticipated his answer, my face had fallen by the time he was finished. I realized that he had answered incorrectly. Now, before you think I think I know more than a doctor, I don’t (unless you’re a first-year resident…they always learn a lot from seasoned nurses 😉).

This doctor being interviewed gave the correct procedure to remove gloves so as not to break sterile field. A sterile field is an area that is 100% aseptic. All items including what they are laying on or contained within are completely sterile. A familiar example is a surgical tray containing the instruments a surgeon uses.

The problem is the procedure to not break sterile field is different from the one to prevent contaminating yourself!

This is an easy mistake and honestly, doctors usually have to worry most about breaking sterile field. Nurses, however, are most often presented with the situation of having to not contaminate ourselves.

So, I took the opportunity to film this video below to show you the correct way to remove your gloves which works at home or if you have to travel. Glove safety is important people!