Did you know there is a special word to use when talking about taking off gloves? The word is “doff”. And believe it or not, there is a proper way to doff gloves! We’ve rounded up a simple, step by step process that you can follow to doff gloves safely and effectively.
The reason that it is important to doff disposable gloves properly is in order to avoid any contact with hazardous materials that may have gotten on the glove, from getting onto your skin. There’s no point in using disposable gloves to protect yourself, if you are just going to touch the contaminated gloves with your bare skin while doffing.
- To begin, pinch the outside of the glove about 1-2 inches from the cuff of the glove on the inside of your wrist.
- Once pinched, begin peeling the glove downward, away from your wrist and allow the glove to turn inside-out. Pull the glove away until it is completely removed from your hand.
- Hold the inside-out glove with the hand that is still gloved. With the gloveless hand, slide two fingers under the cuff of the remaining glove. Take care not to touch the outside surface of the glove.
- Peel the glove downwards and off your hand, ensuring the glove turns inside-out. Make sure to peel this second glove off so that the first glove is enveloped inside the first glove when you doff so that no contaminates come in contact with your bare hands.
- Immediately dispose of the used gloves in an appropriate trash bin.
As a bonus, we’ve listed a few helpful “do’s” and “don’ts” below when it comes to doffing your disposable gloves.
DO:
- Remove excess liquid before doffing gloves
- Cleanse hands according to company guidelines
- Change gloves when dirty or damaged
- Reuse disposable gloves after they’ve already been removed
- Touch surfaces in your work environment with contaminated gloves, including handles, keyboards, etc.
- Touch your face with contaminated gloves
- Doff one glove and then remove the second glove with your fingertips