Improper glove use at your local eatery(s)

[dawnsternlpn]

:down::down::down:Have you been in a deli, pizza shop, restaurant, bakery, etc...and the staff open doors, change money and handle then bag your food with the same worn out pair of gloves the last 30 customers had the pleasure of bring home germs from? Have they no one to advise them? As the prices here in the United States continue to rise, how is it that our standards as consumers slide downhill and allow us to accept this ignorance and lack of good hygiene...........I'm sure with the extra income gauged by some shopkeepers they could afford the change of gloves between customers or enforce hand washing. Have you ever seen your local deli man wash his hands between customers? Me either. I have recently started to complain when neither is done in front of me.......afterall when they or their family members come to the hospital I'm sure they would quickly complain if immediately after assisting in a pericare I began to administer meds to them or one of their families. As Nurses can we all do a little patient teaching in our local eateries. Please, it's the least we can do, afterall we have no clue what techniques are used in restraunt kitchens that we don't see. Just my 2 cents:twocents:

[mscsrjhm]

I love all the television cooking shows- but cringe when I see bare hands wrist deep in food. Just doesn't look clean.

[Mellowchick]

I love all the television cooking shows- but cringe when I see bare hands wrist deep in food. Just doesn't look clean.

People everywhere have been cooking with bare hands since the beginning of time.

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

With all the above in mind, I have to compliment my local Subway sandwich shop. Not only do they change gloves between customers but they wash their hands as well!

If you see an error in cleanliness, by all means tell the offender! Whose health are you protecting by not saying anything?

[Plagueis]

Actually, I fail to see the point in them wearing gloves at all... they should just practice good handwashing. The gloves are gross. I know how my hands sweat after wearing them for just 5 minutes, I can't imagine wearing them for hours at a time... seems like a breeding ground for whatever wants to live under there.

I believe that some fast food places make their employees wear gloves in order to give the impression to the customer that they are practicing standard precautions against germs, which is supposed to make us customers feel better about the food we are about to eat. ("Hey, this place uses gloves, while the other place doesn't. Let's eat here!")

However, the supposed protection against germs doesn't work if the employee wears the same gloves for all meals, plus touching counters, menus, and doorknobs.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

I agree. I've also seen workers handle money and not change gloves.

I used to own a restaurant with my husband. Basically, you don't want to know what goes on in the kitchen of your local eatery. Many short order cooks are marginal people with hangovers. They are under a lot of pressure to get the food out on time and will, er, take shortcuts.

If you want to avoid this, eat at home. You'll save money too!

[THAT Nurse., MSN, RN, APRN]

Like Whispera, I must give a nod to my local Subway. I have one a quarter of a mile from my home, and the workers are VERY good about hand hygiene.

[LovingNurse, BSN, RN]

If you are washing your hands properly before and after handling the money... then I will still say that using gloves is overkill.

That's the thing though.... How many times do you EVER see someone washing their hands between transactions? I don't think gloves are a replacement for good hand washing... I think they should be used "in addition to" good hand washing. When/if you do see someone wash hands ... how often is it done properly and long enough?

Yes, I am a germaphobe - aren't most nurses?

[KyPinkRN]

That's the thing though.... How many times do you EVER see someone washing their hands between transactions? I don't think gloves are a replacement for good hand washing... I think they should be used "in addition to" good hand washing. When/if you do see someone wash hands ... how often is it done properly and long enough?

Yes, I am a germaphobe - aren't most nurses?

You just contradicted yourself... "How many times do you EVER see someone washing their hands between transactions?" either gloves are a replacement for handwashing or they should be used "in addition" not both ways...

There is no replacement for good handwashing, simple as that. Gloves are pointless in preventing the spread of bacteria if you don't wash your hands and change them in between tasks... defeats the whole purpose. Its a false sense of security for restaurant patrons to think they are being protected and for workers to think they are actually cleaner than they are. Mindset being "oh, but I am wearing gloves, my hands are clean"... Its a matter of education... do you wear gloves when you are preparing meals at home... I bet not, but you probably do wash your hands regularly. Point is the gloves are just for show, just another way to conform to the overly-sensitive too politically correctness of our society today... but that is another thread isn't it.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

No, I am not a germaphobe. An intact and healthy immune system is usually a good defense for the many invisible microbes that we encounter on a daily basis as we live our ordinary lives.

[Atheos]

People everywhere have been cooking with bare hands since the beginning of time.

People have been dying of nasty, yet totally preventable, diseases since the beginning of time as well.

[Pepperlady]

I was at a local eatery and the fellow serving me made a very big show of washing his hands, placing on his gloves..... then he scratched his head. I pointed it out to him and he said he had only touched his ear. I said I didn't care what he touched, I would rather he not now touch my sandwich..... he reluctantly disposed of the gloves and put another pair on and made my sandwich.

[LovingNurse, BSN, RN]

You just contradicted yourself....

I didn't contradict myself, but maybe my post was confusing to you. I see the points you make, but there are problems with both schools of thought - which is why my opinion (proper hand washing + proper use of gloves) is the same as listed in

"The Bottom Line" of this article: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/safefood/newsltr/v7n4s04.html