Wearing disposable medical gloves is an indispensable part of the daily life of nurses and doctors. This is a practice aimed at improving occupational safety and infection prevention.

Hand hygiene medical gloves In order to better protect patients and medical staff themselves, the Hospital Health and Infection Prevention Committee stipulates that disposable medical gloves must be worn: Protect medical staff in situations where they may be contaminated with blood, secretions and excreta (including pathogens).

Prevent the release of pathogens from the hands into the sterile area of ​​the patient, including wounds and mucous membranes. For pathogens that are not sensitive to alcohol-based hand sanitizers, such as Clostridium difficile. After the operation, the disposable medical gloves must be removed and the hands must be disinfected. Final disinfection is important because undetected perforations on the gloves can cause contamination of the hands.

The removal and disposal of used disposable gloves is also a risk of contamination. Although the gloves are disposable doctor gloves, proper hand disinfection should be performed before putting them on. To prevent increased risk of skin damage and perforations, the hands must be completely dry. In other words, the hand sanitizer must be completely absorbed. According to European standards (EN 374), gloves must be chemically resistant.

The gloves are not contaminated with blood, secretions or excreta, and there are no obvious perforations Gloves can only be used when treating the same patient. However, under special circumstances, if the workflow cannot be guaranteed, the gloved hands can be disinfected between two patient treatments Aktion Saubere Hände (ASH) put forward two specific examples in its position paper “The sterilization of medical examination gloves” : In the daily activities of the same patient, it is necessary to alternate unclean and clean activities.

Continuous blood draw for different patients. According to the ASH publication, disposable medical gloves should be worn for no more than 30 minutes or hand sanitized five times.

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