Removing protective gloves

For some tasks it is imperative to wear protective gloves to prevent infections. According to the WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care this includes situations with a "potential for touching blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions and items visibly soiled by body fluids" ¹.

When caring for incontinent patients, cleaning up secretion, excretion and vomit, or when removing drains, etc., gloves are very likely to become contaminated. Consequently, there is a high risk of also contaminating the hands when removing the gloves. Although the hands need to be disinfected after the gloves have been taken off, a certain glove removal procedure additionally helps minimise the infection risk. Above all, it is very important that a bare hand does not touch the glove exterior.

The following glove removal procedure is advisable:

1. First, take one hand to pinch the palm of the glove on the other hand.
2. Pull the glove down and hold it with the gloved hand.
3. Then, place your bare fingers inside the cuff and pull down the second glove as well.
4. Turning it inside out, use it to envelope the other glove.

Dispose of the gloves in an appropriate bin. Afterwards, disinfect your hands.