Healthcare personnel who wear latex gloves may be exposing themselves and patients to the risk of infection. According to a study reported in the New York Times, medical personnel who wear latex gloves are less likely to wash their hands after removing the gloves. This is a dangerous practice because germs can be transmitted through the latex gloves.

The results of the study have been published in the Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology Journal. Researchers looked at 7,000 doctor-patient interactions in hospitals in England and Wales. The researchers found that the overall handwashing rate was 47.7%, regardless of whether gloves were worn or not. However, when the medical personnel were wearing gloves, the hand washing rate dropped to about 41%.

Doctors and nurses wear gloves when they're working with people with infectious diseases, and the bodily fluids from such patients can contain deadly disease-causing germs. These germs can seep through the gloves, and when these people fail to wash their hands after removing the gloves, they place themselves and patients at risk of infections. Additionally, medical personnel may be at risk of having the germs transmitted to their hands when they remove the gloves. That's why it's necessary that these people wash their hands thoroughly after removing the gloves.

Arizona medical malpractice lawyers find that proper handwashing procedures are some of the simplest steps that doctors and nurses can take to reduce the risk of hospital -acquired infections. Unfortunately, these basic steps are often ignored. In fact, many infection control strategies in hospitals around the country are now focusing on compliance with handwashing and hand hygiene procedures. Hospitals are also experimenting with cameras installed at wash areas to encourage staff to wash hands before and after handling patients.