Coronavirus: Can gloves save you from COVID-19?
Not unless you keep your hands clean and be aware of how cross contamination works
Can wearing gloves really save you from the novel coronavirus, COVID-19? It certainly can help you keep the germs at bay, say experts, but without precautions such as washing hands regularly and the disposal of gloves properly, it’s just unnecessary noise.
A video posted by a former emergency room nurse from Saginaw, Michigan, on Facebook explains the concept of cross contamination.
In her 3-minute-22-second video posted on Facebook on March 31, Molly Lixey uses paint to simulate the presence of germs. She demonstrates how once you’ve got paint – or germs - on your hands and begin to touch your phone, your face or anything else around you, the once sterile surfaces are no longer so. And by retouching these surfaces, even with clean hands, you are helping them migrate and spread.
Lixey’s demo
Lixey’s clip has her pick a scenario; she chooses grocery shopping. She puts on a pair of gloves. Now, she says, she’s in the store and picking up things – and along with those things, germs. "But it's (the germs) on my gloves, that's fine right? It's on my gloves," she says in the clip. "But now I'm walking along and my phone rings, so I've now touched my hands together a couple times, I reach for my phone and oh I have a text message from my husband."
Lixey continues to pretend shop and with each product she adds a little paint (germs) to her gloves. Now, she suggests that if she gets a phone call, she picks up. Finally, taking her gloves off, she takes stock of all the places the germs have travelled – her hands, face, phone.
"There's no point in wearing gloves, if you're not going to wash your hands every time you touch something," she explains.
Lixey’s tips for staying germ free
1. Go ahead wear your gloves, but you need to clean your hands all the time.
2. Don’t touch your face.
3. Don’t touch your dirty phone. When you do, wash your hands, clean the phone.
4. Throw your gloves in the trash can – be careful because if you don’t dispose of them properly, you may end up contaminating someone else.