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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Wearing disposable gloves to supermarket

233 replies

Balhammom · 29/03/2020 20:24

Curious to know if I’m being OTT or if others are doing this too?

My logic is that I’m going to be handling lots of dirty surfaces that others have also touched. I don’t want to transfer these to my car. Hence, I wear gloves to do my shop and pack, but remove them before getting back into my car. I also immediately disinfect my shopping and (eg) bank card once I get home.

OP posts:
LeGrandBleu · 29/03/2020 22:40

@Coffeeandnutrients I bought my N99 masks (cloth reusable) before the end of January. I saw this coming. If the NHS has a shortage of PPE it is not because of me or others like me. It is because it was ill prepared and they reacted late.
The gloves I bought are for people handling food, not dealing with patients and again I bought those January/February.

Yes I want to see the health workers protected. And me being protected and not getting ill is another way of protecting them

T0tallyFuckedUpFamily · 29/03/2020 22:41

the Tesco’s employee approached the driver and offered the box of gloves in the same way you would offer a sweet from a bag

Oh lord! So you’re sticking your hand into the same box that numerous other people have used and standing close to someone else while doing it. Yuck.

Balhammom · 29/03/2020 22:43

Agree with many of the above posters - most normal vinyl or nitrile gloves are food grade so provide some protection but are not tested/approved for healthcare procedures.

As with others, I already had a few boxes that I use for cleaning and messy nappies etc.

OP posts:
Coffeeandnutrients · 29/03/2020 22:53

@LeGrandBleu Not sure your food gloves is what we’re talking about in terms of those buying gloves needed for person contact.

flyingspaghettimonster · 29/03/2020 22:53

I use the gloves, take off carefully without touching the outside before getting in my car, and I have packed all the non perishavle items in a large plastic storage tote in the trunk. Once home, only the fresh and frozen stuff comes in, everything else remains in the storage tote 3-5 days. Saves trying to sanitize cardboard packages of pasta etc.

GinandGingerBeer · 29/03/2020 22:55

I wear disposable gloves and use apple pay on my iwatch so I don't have to have a handbag with me or touch anything.

CorianderLord · 29/03/2020 23:00

I've done it because I have long nails so even washing may not be 100%

LeGrandBleu · 29/03/2020 23:00

There are far more rules to observe to avoid bringing covid inside your house.
www.ancicampania.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/protocolli_sicurezza_covid-19_it-1.pdf-1-724x1024.jpg

it is in Italian , but here is a rough translation

  1. do not touch anything
  2. take off your shoes
  3. disinfect your pet's paws
  4. take your clothes off
  5. put keys, wallet, bag, ... in a box next to the front door
  6. have a shower, and if your can't wash all the exposed body parts.
  7. clean your phone and glasses
  8. clean anything your brought outside (with bleach!!)
  9. remove and bin gloves
10. you can't eliminate but you can deduce risk
Holdingmybreath · 29/03/2020 23:06

I just dump the feed in the boot and use hand sanitizer before I get into the car.
I wear a face mask at work,we all know they're pretty pointless.Out and about the best they will do is protect others if you sneeze but 2 meters will do the same.
The fitted masks are no good unless you have been tested to make sure they do fit.
You could wash your clothes at cool temperatures as it's the soap that destroys the virus.
Wiping your groceries with antibac whiped will not help with a virus.
I wash my hands a lot though and I keep my distance as much as possible.

dollface19 · 29/03/2020 23:07

I wear gloves from car to shop take off in car hand sanitize hands go home.
Antibac every single item I've bought, keys phone door handles. I strip in the porch clothes and coat straight in machine on 40 then wash hands then antibac shoes then wash hands again. Bit extreme but so is the virus

OatMilkAddict · 29/03/2020 23:07

What's wrong with just washing your hands before and after shopping, and sanitising gearstick and steering wheel when you park up at home on the return journey?

Coulddowithanap · 29/03/2020 23:07

I know i touch my face a lot so wearing gloves wouldn't help. I use my hand gel a lot when out.

Actually I saw a checkout girl wearing gloves and touched her face several times that I noticed whilst I was in the queue, i doubt she used alcohol gel on the gloves.

Tonyaster · 29/03/2020 23:09

OatMilkAddict nothing. I wear nitrile gloves a.lot anyway (horses), i have them around and they remind me not to touch my face

TroysMammy · 29/03/2020 23:10

I wear woollen gloves when out and about but had to take them off because the bloody self service till in WH Smiths wouldn't work when I tried to press I brought my own bag!!!!

PhilCornwall1 · 29/03/2020 23:14

@LeGrandBleu Jesus Christ, if it comes to all of that, there's no point any bugger getting out of bed!!

Sertchgi123 · 29/03/2020 23:15

I find wearing gloves stops me touching my face.

Potkettlexx · 29/03/2020 23:18

I think it’s pointless really. I say that as someone who touches tens of thousands of notes per day

Alsohuman · 29/03/2020 23:20

No gloves or mask here. Lots of hand washing and that’s it.

Ontheboardwalk · 29/03/2020 23:22

Went to the local shop earlier and took a pair of gloves out of a hair dye packet it had

I disposed of the gloves, anti bac and wiped the stuff down when I got in

As other people said, it helped me not to touch my face when I was out

LeGrandBleu · 29/03/2020 23:33

From the Washington Post :
When historians tally up the many missteps policymakers have made in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the senseless and unscientific push for the general public to avoid wearing masks should be near the top.

www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/03/28/masks-all-coronavirus/

wikedminx · 29/03/2020 23:36

The other day i went shopping and wore disposable gloves, and no way would touch my face wearing them! I hate the smell of them! it makes me want to gag!! i have a bag in car to put them in, i use the bag inside out to pull them off, then tie it up, then sanitise my hands.

Ladiva1971 · 29/03/2020 23:42

Our car park was littered with gloves today...….

RoseCider · 29/03/2020 23:47

I've done it because I have long nails so even washing may not be 100%

Just cut and file your nails 🤔. It’s not difficult.

Branster · 29/03/2020 23:50

Anything is better than nothing imho as long as we all remember to not touch our face and keep washing those hands.
I went food shopping in an actual supermarket yesterday after over a week break. It wasn’t a pleasant experience because some people were getting too close, mostly women and they were in their own little world with no sense of safety whatsoever.
First rule, I never use my phone when out of the house for phone calls because it would touch my face. I do use it for messages and pictures because, as it was the case yesterday, I was picking a few bits for neighbours as well so needed some communication.
I haven’t used the car in at least 3 days so it probably didn’t have any active viruses in it. I left the house with hair tied up and wearing a mask which I didn’t remove or touch until I got back home. It’s not even a proper mask (dIY thingy but it’s better than nothing and I was hoping it would keep people at a distance, which it didn’t actually).
I put disposable gloves on before leaving the car. Luckily they worked with the phone. Also wore a pair of glasses (useless as they steamed up at times and didn’t want to remove them and faff about with touching my face). I just got on with it the best I could. Queued up to be allowed in the shop, sprayed the trolley handle with disinfectant, got on with shopping, lots of things missing from shelves but there was enough to buy what I needed and we certainly won’t be starving or become malnourished, the shopping itself was absolutely fine. Some people were annoying for not following the minimum distance. All shopping went in my normal bags.
Left the shop, unlocked car, put shopping in the boot, returned trolley, got in the car, removed gloves inside out,, realised I didn’t think to bring a spare bag or anything to put them in so left them on the floor. Sanitised car keys and hands, drove home with partially steamed up glasses - how do people with glasses manage to wear masks I don’t know, they must have secret.
Got home, distributed neighbours’ shopping left outside their doors, put my bags by the door outside the house, took shoes off in the garage and left them there for an undetermined amount of time, took mask off left in the garage on a hook (don’t know what to do with it, I haven’t got another one, maybe I can reuse it in a weeks time - fuck knows).
Open door with the corner of my coat, washed hands, put coat in washing machine, washed hands, face and ears (they recommend it in some countries along with washing nose but I have no idea how to do that) and glasses with soap and water. Won’t use glasses again, or not with a mask anyway. Maybe skying goggle or safety goggles.
Proceeded to disinfect items one by one as much as I could and put on the counter. Wash hands, put stuff away. Wash hands, disinfect all handles which I’ve been touching.
I didn’t bother with potatoes, onions bags because I’ll be using them to cook with so will be washing hands when handling them when the time comes.
Disinfect phone and keys which were left outside by the door. Wash hands again. Message neighbours re their shopping, realise I touched receipt which was touched by sales assistant and me with gloves. Put receipt in bin, wash hands, disinfect phone and bin lid. Swear a few times. Unlock car, go to put empty bags in the car (won’t be touching them for a while, hopefully no active viruses by then). Picked up used gloves from the car with a small plastic bag, put in the bin.
Back in the house, wash hands and lock the car.
Notice DH left dog lead on the side on kitchen counter. Put lead away in dog drawer, wash hands, disinfect drawer handle and kitchen counter.
Realise at this rate we’ll run out of every cleaning stuff possible. Make a bottle of dishwashing liquid solution, go to a Boots.com to try and order rubbing alcohol or some shit like that. I am number 253672 in the queue. Go to Amazon, only overpriced dubious looking items available of this type. Do a general google and decide I can’t justify £300 odd on some hospital grade disinfectant but make mental calculation that I can buy it but would it be immoral. Swear out loud, tell DH everything’s gone wrong and go to have a nap. Eventually doze off.
DD charges right in to tell me in a very loud voice someone ‘famous’ known only to her and 6 other people on the planed has waved back or said hello on Instagram, excited dog on her tail jumps on the bed, she jumps on after him and I’m thinking nobody has washed the dog’s paws and DD’s phone has not been disinfected today, and what if my hair collected viruses and now they are on my pillow. I hug both, no nap, and feel embarrassed and stupid for over reacting like this but I can’t help it.

LittleBearPad · 29/03/2020 23:58

How do you all wash your shopping? I’m bewildered (by lots else on this thread too)