Head to any supermarket in the UK right now and you’re bound to spot shoppers sporting a pair of gloves.
With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to spread across the nation, people are understandably taking these precautions to try and protect themselves from the virus-spreading germs.
But according to an NHS doctor, wearing gloves to create a barrier between the virus and your hands may actually be doing more harm than good.
Dr Karan Rangarajan, who works as a surgeon for the National Health Service, created a video on popular social media platform TikTok to explain that wearing gloves could actually increase your risk of coming into contact with germs.
‘You’ve got your gloves, you’re at the supermarket, you’re touching things – there you go… germs,’ he said.
‘You keep touching more things throughout same day with these same gloves, germs everywhere. You’re accumulating germs.
‘Your glove is now more full of germs than your hand would’ve been if you washed each time.
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'Remember, with these same gloves you’ll be touching your steering wheel, you might accidentally touch your face, transferring the germs to yourself.
‘And then when your’re changing the gloves you might actually be touching the glove itself.’
Yikes!
Dr Rangarajan went on to add that the best option is to be diligent with hand washing and making sure to keep your hands away from your face.
'Just wash your hands, be sensible, stay safe.'
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Public Health England and the World Health Organisation are also not advocating the use of gloves.
“PHE is not recommending the use of gloves as a protective measure against COVID-19 for the general public,” a spokesperson for PHE told The Independent.
“People concerned about the transmission of infectious diseases should prioritise good personal, respiratory and hand hygiene.”
