To let you know how to wear gloves safely in a supermarket?

[Isla727]

I have read some people saying that it felt a bit pointless to be wearing gloves in the supermarket, which touch the trolley then the food items, then the checkout desk etc. This is obviously a real concern because you could spread Coronavirus from the trolley to your food, then from checkout area to your food etc.

One option is to just use hand gel or wipes instead of gloves if you have them but here is a safe method if you are going to wear disposable gloves:

1. Take three disposable gloves with you.
2. Use glove no.1 to wipe the trolley clean then take it off as it may be contaminated with Covid-19 (it may not be!) from the trolley.
3. Put glove no.2 on your dominant hand to push the trolley.
4. Use your non-dominant bare hand to pick up food items (this avoids spreading germs from the trolley-glove to the food)
5. At the checkout; remove your 'trolley glove'; apply hand gel or use a wipe then pack your bags.
6. Then put glove no. 3 on to pay (as card machine may be contaminated) and to push the trolley one handed. At the car, take off your final glove.
7. Apply hand gel or wipes after putting bags in the car.

The way to deal with 'the situation' is to wash your hands for 20 seconds and not touch your face.

@Shinyme but you'd hope the food items weren't contaminated and I'd use hand gel in case they were (as detailed).

You would take the gloves off surgically by removing from the wrist with one finger and apply hand gel afterwards.

Why are people still wearing face masks when they've been proven to do nothing?

Also that is such an extreme amount of faff for what can be sorted by washing your hands before and after shopping and just not touching your face?!

I have not read anywhere that gloves are required when doing supermarket shopping.

That's mad.

The number of people who'll have touched your shopping before and during its time in the supermarket is huge. It's probably covered in all kinds of things.

@Pipgirl, they've not been proven to do nothing- they reduce droplet. spread to a limited extent; which is why lots of countries have advised their citizens to use them. The proper N95 masks are difficult to wear for any length of time though.

It is a lot of faff but so is wiping down all of the packaging, waiting in a long queue etc.

@Unshriven, but it's likely that if the items you're buying are absolutely covered in Covid then you'll get ill anyway. Unless you are incredibly careful when wiping them down. If you pick items up and then use gel then you kill any covid anyway. The trolley has been handled by more people than individual food items have.

I think you need to get in and out of the supermarket as quickly as possible. You are more at risk from people not social distancing the longer you are in there faffing with your glove routine.

I subscribe to the wash your hands, wipe down the trolley, dong touch your face clean.
However, if you do choose to wear gloves, please put them in the bin when you have finished. The supermarket carpark had several discarded gloves today. Bin your rubbish!

I noticed when shopping yesterday that the people wearing gloves and/or masks/scarves were the very worst at keeping their distance. Anecdotal I realise but I wonder if it gives people a (false) sense of security?

Woo 4% YANBU. Well everyone has their own way of doing things!

@choirmumoftwo, it might do- that's why it's probably either best not to wear gloves and just use gel and avoid touching your face OR to be incredibly careful about spreading germs with the gloves from one object/item to another.

How do you sanitise all food stuffs - like a bakery loaf out in the store.
Or a box of eggs?

Are you all wiping bananas and hosing down frozen food ?

I am genuinely intrigued

Alternatively, you could just do your shopping and not be too obsessive about it? I've always washed my hands when I come in from outside anyway, and particularly before touching food.

I saw a man in M&S today wearing a plastic glove on his right hand, but nothing on his left. Because CV will know that he wore one glove, so will give him a miss, presumably.

@stophuggingme Don't go there. Some people are disinfecting their post. Their bananas would be small beer.

Removing gloves and masks properly and disposing of them properly is the most important factor and given how many I've seen strewn around supermarket carparks I think they should be banned from general sale as clearly too many stupid people around who are more likely to spread the virus with thoughtlessly discarded items. If you're swapping gloves at the checkout what are you doing with the ones you take off?

I'm just washing my hands every time I come back into the house (and trying not to touch my face while I'm out) I squirt some spray on the door handles but probably not every time as I don't always remember.

I don't wash any of the food packaging but then again I'm the sort of slattern person who before all this didn't wash fruit or veg before eating or cooking .

How many gloves would I need? I don't have a car and catch the bus home with my shopping

To let you know how to wear gloves safely in a supermarket?

DON'T

Wash your hands instead.

And DO NOT use hand gel to clean gloves. It won't be effective and might cause the gloves to disintegrate.

i shop, wash hands at home put shopping away, wash hands. i don't clean any shopping it is put away never have done and won't start now, total grot bag

Or you could wipe the trolley down, use hand gel after youve wiped it, do your shopping, use hand gel when you're finished, put shopping in car, wash hands/ wipe down packaging when you get home.

I wish people would stop using gloves, people think it protects them from everything when all it does is make you complacent and less likely to actually wash your hands and prevent germs spreading. Not to mention the fact that people don't dispose of them properly and just chuck them on the ground besode the car.

Sounds like a method for spreading OCD to me. This has the smell of a ritual about it.

You do not need gloves if you wash your hands properly and do not touch your face.

If you do neither of those then gloves won't save you.

Christ, what a waste of plastic.

Just wash your hands when you get home.

PipGirl404 wearing simple surgical style masks protects other people from the wearer if they are worn correctly. You're right they provide very little protection to the wearer.

We have to wear them at work now (supported living). It's to protect the residents (who haven't left the house in nearly 4 weeks) from us - the support workers - as we're all leaving the house to return to our own families, going to the supermarket for the household we support and occasionally for our own families, some of us have spouses going to other workplaces etc.

We wear masks to protect our residents from us! A lot of them have heart and or lung issues and/ or are immunocompromised.

Sounds like a method for spreading OCD to me

@Haffiana