The disastrous pandemic that hit the world in 2020 is still sucking the life of many individuals to this day. When the news first came out about an infected patient dying due to the loss of oxygen, it was terrifying. However, something even more terrifying than watching hundreds of people die every day worldwide was realising this deadly disease is contagious and was spread through coming in contact. Importance of gloves and wearing face mask cannot be denied. Also, this little fact changed our perspective of how we look at these infectious diseases; moreover, as the spread kept increasing worldwide, WHO authorised humans to quarantine and regulate excessive care and proper SOPs, including wearing masks and gloves outside all times.
Although it’s been mentioned many times that gloves don’t ultimately save you from the infection, it still acts out 90% of their duties perfectly. The effectiveness and importance of glove, as well as a mask, depends on how one uses it. A study shows that bacteria and disease can stay on a glove for almost 2 to 4 hours maximum. Therefore, in between this window, if you end up touching your face, phones, or furniture, you’re only encouraging the disease to work its way into your life.
In this blog, we will discuss the appropriate use of gloves, recommendations, and more according to the Covid-19.
Proper Use Of Gloves
The leading cause of upper respiratory infections is hand-to-face contact. Although the coronavirus spread typically occurs from person-to-person contact, the hand to face factor just adds fuel to the fire. Moreover, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control recommends using gloves only when visiting the sick, being in contact with an infected person, or coming in contact with body fluids. Here are a few ways you can use gloves appropriately in different communities:
- In the community: wear gloves while tending to the sick and refrain from direct contact with body fluids. Disinfecting the space, person, or any other material and then disposing of the gloves immediately. Also, after tending the sick, make sure to remove the gloves and don’t touch your face or anyone else. After taking off the gloves, thoroughly wash your hands and use a disinfectant spray or hand sanitisers to prevent any infections from coming your way.
- Healthcare; Gloves reduce the risk of microbial contaminations, especially from hand contacts that come from the patients. Wear gloves, especially in labs, hospitals, and other healthcare environments, are necessary.
Hand protection is essential in any healthcare organisation and medical procedures. Disposable gloves play a vital role in healthcare because you can’t keep using the same glove repeatedly. There are many different types of gloves depending upon the level of security they provide. Here are a few types of gloves and their uses.
Different Types Of Gloves and Their Uses
NITRILE:
Nitrile is a versatile choice when it comes to picking up gloves. However, they offer low protection from pathogens yet are an excellent alternative for latex. These gloves are available for both medical and non-medical grades. Hence, nitrile can get used by healthcare workers and the expected audience.
LATEX
These gloves are great for handling body fluids, mainly blood and other viruses containing liquids. Additionally, latex offers good protection against pathogens, has a high tensile stretch, with a good fit, and is ideal for forensics, labs, and medical nurses.
VINYL
Vinyl gloves are recommended for low biological risks, such as patient cleaning and food preparations.
NEOPRENE
Neoprene gloves are more likely to bend towards mechanical use. However, they’re an excellent source for using medical instruments and other surgical equipment. They have a high resistance to toxic chemicals, and therefore, these get used in chemical industries more often than in healthcare.
Recommendations:
Amidst the Covid-19, here are some recommendations for wearing gloves for protection. Double wearing gloves is not necessary unless you’re standing close to someone severely infected. Otherwise, double wearing can prove useless in the long run. Always sanitise your hands after disposing of gloves; we never know what kind of viruses we can attract and carry without knowing the possible outcomes. Also, we strongly suggest avoiding wearing latex or any other gloves for more than 2 or 4 hours. The reason is gloves can only maintain bacteria on the surface for 2 hours, or a maximum of four. If we exceed this limit, we’ll be prone to infections one way or another.
Overall, gloves have now become a part of our daily SOP requirement. Hence, more and more people are wheeling towards purchasing suitable quality gloves from the market. Therefore, healthcare companies looking to bulk buy premium quality glove sets can hit up UK-HUB Central, a wholesale website offering significant profit margins and affordable pricing for different types of gloves.
