With the constant ongoing threat of COVID-19, many health experts have recommended the general public use protective gloves and masks while out in public. However, when used improperly protective gloves can pose the threat of exposure to the virus according to The Pelican. 

When personal protective equipment (PPE) is used improperly, there is the risk of cross contamination. Many nurses and health care officials have taken it to the internet to explain the dangers of cross contamination and how to properly use PPE. 

Dr. Michael Kilkenny of the Cabell County Health Department in West Virginia demonstrated how to use gloves and a face mask when going out to the grocery store. “In the parking lot, I would be using my hand sanitizer. After cleaning my hands I would first put on my mask….Gloves can protect your hands but everything you touch while at the store with those same gloves on can spread germs,” said Dr. Kilkenny. Which is why it’s important to not touch your face or phone while shopping. It is also why removing and properly disposing of the gloves is also important. 

The use of PPE has become a part of our daily lives however the proper disposal of it hasn’t. In many places like the grocery store protective gloves are being thrown on the ground and left for others to pick up. Potentially infecting another person if you’re asymptomatic or not showing symptoms of COVID-19. So it’s just as important to be disposing of the gloves and it is to use them.

During this time it’s important to not only protect yourself but to also protect others. Use your PPE properly to avoid cross contamination. While also making sure to dispose of it properly in order to slow down the spread of the virus.