Why You Should Choose Hand Sanitization over Wearing Gloves

It’s easy to believe that wearing gloves will protect you from bacteria, germs, and even the dreaded Covid-19 virus. The line of thinking is that it won’t get on your hands. Doctors wear gloves of course, so it must be safe. Right? Sort of, but unless you’re prepping for surgery, washing your hands or using an alcohol based hand wipe, is going to be the better bet.

Why gloves don’t offer the protection you think they do

To put it simply, you should think of it this way. Are you worried about viruses and bacterias infecting your hands, or are you worried about them getting into your body? When we touch things, bacteria can surely transfer to our hands, but the danger and worry come from when we touch our face. Then the bacteria goes from your hand to your face, which allows it to enter your body. Gloves do the exact same thing, except they hold onto even more bacteria.

Infectious-disease specialist and epidemiologist Ravina Kullar explains that you’re really just moving bacteria from one surface to another with gloves.

Gloves are also likely to make you feel safer than you are, which means you might end up touching your face more than if you are not wearing gloves. Not wearing gloves means you’re more likely to keep up on sanitizing your hands.

When should you wear gloves?

Well, besides when it’s cold outside, you should wear gloves when you are caring for someone who has Covid-19 or who is ill with something else. This is the CDC’s recommendation. Surgeons and doctors are constantly removing their gloves and using new ones. This is so that they don’t transfer bacteria from place to place. This is an unnecessary precaution for you to take when going to the grocery store. Just sanitize your hands with a handy Clean Buddy after you touch surfaces.

Why hand sanitization is better

Hand sanitizing wipes like Clean Buddies kill 99.9% of bacteria and germs. Gloves on the other hand just give the bacteria a place to hang out. After using a form of sanitization, it’s safer to touch your face, or adjust your mask while out in public. If you need to adjust your mask, your gloved hands are just going to transfer that bacteria to your mask, which means it’s more likely to enter your system.

Washing your hands is still the best option

The CDC has been recommending regular hand washing since this all began. That’s because it works. With the right soap and scrubbing for at least 20 seconds, you are doing more to protect yourself than gloves can. You should be regularly washing your hands throughout the day, and if it’s not an option to use soap and water, be sure to keep your Clean Buddies around.