Caring at Home
Not for everything. Gloves are for tasks involving bodily fluids, broken skin or infection risk. Here is when to wear them and when clean hands are enough.
OMS Clinical Team
Product Specialists
No, not for everything. Gloves are for tasks that involve bodily fluids, broken skin, or a known infection. For much of daily care, such as helping someone dress, eat or move around, clean hands are enough and often better.
Many family carers wear gloves for everything, usually out of caution. It is understandable, but it has a cost. It uses supplies quickly, and it can change how care feels for the person receiving it.
| Task | Gloves? |
|---|---|
| Helping with toileting or continence care | Yes |
| Cleaning up any spill of blood or bodily fluid | Yes |
| Applying creams or dressings to broken skin | Yes |
| Emptying a catheter bag or commode | Yes |
| Caring for someone with a known infection | Yes |
| Helping someone dress or brush their hair | No, clean hands |
| Helping with eating or drinking | No, clean hands |
| Assisting someone to walk or stand | No, clean hands |
| Giving oral medicines from a pot | Usually not |
There are three reasons. Gloves worn for too long give a false sense of security and are often not changed when they should be. They cost money that is better spent on the pairs you genuinely need. And there is a human element that matters: for someone receiving care, being touched through a glove for every interaction can feel clinical when the moment does not call for it.
Gloves for the tasks that need them, clean hands for the rest. That is better practice and it feels better for the person you care for.
None of this means hesitating when you are unsure. If a task might involve bodily fluids, or you are not certain, put gloves on. The guidance above is about avoiding habitual all-day glove wearing, not about talking anyone out of protection.
Powder-free nitrile is the sensible default at home. It is latex-free, so there is no risk of a latex allergy reaction for either of you, and it resists tearing better than vinyl. Get the size right, because a glove that is too small tears at the thumb and one that is too large makes fiddly tasks harder.
See our home care essentials for powder-free nitrile gloves in every size, or read our full guide to glove materials.
Caring at Home
