Kitchen Etiquette In The COVID-19 Era: Can Surgical Gloves Protect Us?
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we interact with other people and how we do things. Fortunately, preventative measures seem to work. Hand washing, sanitizing and the use of surgical gloves are the most recommended preventative methods.
The reason why public health experts recommend these three methods is because of the way COVID-19 is transmitted. If an infected person touches their mouth, eyes, or nose, they can pass on the virus to others by infecting surfaces they touch. You can also pass on the virus directly through handshakes.
Importance of Hand Washing
It’s a human habit to keep touching your face even without knowing. That’s why our hands contribute to most COVID-19 transmissions. Whether infected with the virus or not, hand washing helps to reduce the rate of virus transmission.
If you have the virus and wash your hands with soap, you reduce the possibility of passing it on to others. Similarly, if you don’t have the virus and have collected it from infected surfaces or persons, hand washing helps to get rid of it before you can touch your face.
Importance of Gloves
Wearing gloves has been widely recommending as one of the best coronavirus preventative methods. But it is important to mention that gloves do not work for everyone. In fact, only specific situations require the use of gloves. Besides, not all gloves can protect you from COVID-19. Latex medical gloves are the best option. You can buy latex surgical gloves in bulk at Medisupply Warehouse at competitive prices, get all your protective gear needs today!
Gloves provide a false sense of security to people wearing them in public. Even if you put on gloves and keep touching your face, then you are likely to catch the virus. So, you don’t need to put on gloves in public but instead wash your hands or use sanitizer.
When to Wear Surgical Gloves
There are situations when wearing disposable surgeon gloves is recommended during this pandemic. Among them is when preparing food to improve kitchen etiquette. Here are two main instances that wearing latex medical gloves is appropriate.
In Hospital Use
If you are taking care of COVID-19 infected patients in the hospital, you need to put on disposable gloves. That’s because you are at a high risk of catching the virus if you touch them directly or the surfaces they’ve infected. But the type of gloves matters. Disposable latex medical gloves are the best option. Wear gloves when cleaning surfaces or coming into contact with their blood, stool, and other body fluids.
In food Preparation
Surgical gloves are recommended for improving kitchen etiquette to avoid cross-contamination. If you pick food from the grocery, and an infected person touched it, you will likely catch COVID-19. But if you wear latex surgeon gloves when preparing food, then you avoid infecting others. If you’ve touched contaminated surfaces before handling the food, you might pass on the virus to the person eating it. That’s why disposable food preparation gloves are recommended in the kitchen. They prevent cross-contamination.
Proper Glove Use and removal
All surgical gloves are single-use items. So, don’t try reprocessing and decontaminating them. For proper and safe glove removal, start with grasping one glove at the wrist as you peel it away from your body inside out. Hold the removed glove in the hand that still has the glove on. Then, insert fingers inside the second glove at the wrist and peel it off as you turn it inside out. Leave the first glove inside. Throw them directly to the trash bin and wash your hands.