In addition to disinfectants and masks, disposable gloves were quickly sold out at the start of the corona pandemic. But there are always warnings about improper use. So what role could disposable gloves play in a second wave?
Julien Kruse from Lahntours-Aktivreisen demonstrates how to roll up a duffel bag so that it becomes an air-filled back cushion for the boat. "I have a plastic edge here, I hold it in front of me, then I just wrap it very tightly over this edge."
The paddle expert has put on white disposable gloves. A short time later, the recreational canoeists whom he instructs also touch the duffel bag. And according to the hygiene concept, Lahntours is not permitted to replace items without disposable gloves or disinfection. But after the instruction to disinfect the storage bin, paddle and duffel bag would be impractical. That's why Kruse wears disposable gloves for a short period of maybe ten minutes. Gloved, he lifts the duffel bag into the canoe.
More important than gloves: "Don't touch your face"
"A little tip among professionals: When I put this one in the back, so full of air, my back says at some point, thanks, but that's nice."
Kruse has already explained how to paddle and screw the storage bin in a watertight manner; the white skins. Taking off looks practiced: Kruse slightly raises the cuff of a glove without touching the skin, folds the end of the glove, pulls the glove up to just above the palm of the hand, grabs the other glove from the outside, also pulls it off by half, rolls the inside out, then strips both of them completely. In the absence of a garbage can on the banks of the Lahn, he stuffs the ball into his pocket, throws it away later and washes his hands.
Kruse has already explained how to paddle and screw the storage bin in a watertight manner; the white skins. Taking off looks practiced: Kruse slightly raises the cuff of a glove without touching the skin, folds the end of the glove, pulls the glove up to just above the palm of the hand, grabs the other glove from the outside, also pulls it off by half, rolls the inside out, then strips both of them completely. In the absence of a garbage can on the banks of the Lahn, he stuffs the ball into his pocket, throws it away later and washes his hands.
Julien Kruse from Lahntours active trips by canoe (Anke Petermann / Deutschlandradio)
Even with correct glove wiping, pathogens can get on the hands from the outside of the glove, says Wolfgang Kohnen, hygiene expert at the University Medical Center Mainz. Therefore, it is essential to additionally clean the hands.
To use such gloves made of natural latex or synthetic rubber in everyday life - meaningless: “So if you wear these thin disposable gloves to prevent the viruses from penetrating through the skin - I can reassure you that the viruses do not go through the skin. It's more about wanting to prevent me from taking these viruses and then touching my mouth or face. Then I get it in my mouth and that's the normal way of infection. You can prevent this much better by simply not touching your face and washing your hands regularly. ”
Dlf listener Johanna Schoch from Schwäbisch-Gmünd wore disposable gloves while shopping at the beginning of the pandemic. In the meantime, she knows that these gloves are porous, let viruses through and therefore only pretend to be safe. It is also unpleasant that you sweat in it and that germs - whether benign or malignant - multiply. “Therefore, they don't bring any protection at this moment. And in individual cases there can also be allergic reactions, ”says the Mainz hygienist Kohnen.
"Smear infections do not play a major role"
Ingrid Weiß from Berlin works in accounting with receipts and stationery. If viruses and contagion are lurking there, she asks by email. Neither in the bookkeeping nor in the bookstore you have to worry, the Hamburg virologist Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit replied on this channel: "Lubricating infections - according to all the data available to us, they are always re-evaluated by the relevant federal institutes , don't matter much. They are theoretically possible. That is, if someone sneezes or coughs into the book, and then Mrs. White would put her hand straight in and then put her hand in her face. As you can see, the probabilities decrease significantly. So please do not go through life fearful, no longer touch paper pages and see the standing aerosol clouds everywhere. "
That's exactly what we don't need, because it stirs up corona fatigue, Schmidt-Chanasit says with a view to a possible second wave: “If there are really critical situations, we need the attention of the citizens. As before the first lockdown, everyone was great. Otherwise, I am very much in favor of significantly reducing this alarmism. "
