Removing Gloves

Key Points

• Glove removal is a contamination-control procedure, not a routine discard action.
• The glove exterior is treated as contaminated throughout removal.
• Immediate hand hygiene after glove removal is mandatory.

Equipment

• Clean disposal receptacle
• Alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water access
• Appropriate size single-use medical gloves

Procedure Steps

1. Position hands away from clothing and face to avoid accidental contact with contaminated glove surfaces.
2. Grasp the outside of one glove near the wrist without touching skin.
3. Peel the first glove away from the body, turning it inside out during removal.
4. Hold the removed glove in the still-gloved hand.
5. Slide ungloved fingers under the second glove at the inner wrist edge.
6. Peel the second glove off by turning it inside out so it encloses the first glove.
7. Discard gloves immediately in the appropriate waste receptacle; never reuse gloves.
8. Perform hand-hygiene right away to remove organisms that may have crossed microscopic tears or transferred during removal.

Common Errors

• Touching bare skin with contaminated glove exterior → direct self-contamination risk
• Skipping post-doffing hand-hygiene → ongoing transmission risk to patients and surfaces

Related

• personal-protective-equipment - Glove removal is one part of the full PPE contamination-control process.
• chain-of-infection - Proper doffing interrupts transmission at the contact pathway.