Most of us are concerned with how to keep ourselves and our families safe from Coronavirus, and many have started wearing masks and gloves when in public.
Health experts say wearing masks is a good idea, but you should skip the gloves. Here's why:
When healthcare providers wear gloves, they change gloves between each task to avoid cross-contamination. If you are in the grocery store and touch multiple items with the same gloves, you're still coming into contact with--and spreading--germs. If you use your gloves hand to touch the grovery cart, the food you're buying, your keys, your phone, your face, your credit card, your car door, your steering wheel...it doesn't matter if you're wearing a glove or not, all those same germs are being spread to every single one of those surfaces. In many cases, gloves are dirtier than your hand, because the glove provides a false sense of cleanliness.
Here's a great video from a nurse demonstrating the concept of cross-contamination using paint:
In the vast majority of cases, it's better idea to NOT wear gloves, and just wash your hands instead. Be conscious of the things you're touching, and clean your hands often. If you *do* wear gloves, PLEASE THROW THEM IN THE TRASH. Every time I've been to a grocery store since the start of this whole thing, I've seen dirty gloves thrown on the ground in the parking lot. You better believe, if I see someone toss their trash on the ground, I'm calling them out for it. Don't be selfish. Don't be gross. It's not that hard to walk them over to a garbage can and dispose of the gloves properly.
[WSBTV]
Photo: Getty Images