Do I need gloves when caring for someone else’s wound?

Yes. Changing a dressing for someone else is one of two situations that call for clean medical gloves, the other being an infected wound. They don’t need to be sterile, but they should be changed between stages.

Yes. It’s one of two situations where gloves are specifically called for: put on clean medical gloves if your wound is infected (red or oozing) or if you are changing the dressing for someone else.

That’s worth noticing, because gloves aren’t required every time someone changes a dressing on their own wound. Caring for someone else is one of the two situations that changes the answer.

They do not need to be sterile. Clean, non-sterile medical gloves are what’s used for closed surgical wounds, open surgical wounds and wet-to-dry dressings alike.

What matters more than the type is how often they’re changed. In a packed-wound dressing change, you use three separate pairs: one to remove the old dressing, a new pair to clean the wound, and another new pair to apply the new dressing, with hands washed in between each.

Gloves also don’t replace handwashing. You need both. Wash your hands before touching the dressing, again after the old dressing and gloves go into the bag, and again at the end.

The gloves protect in both directions. The direction that matters most here is this: your skin protects your body from germs, and when the skin is broken, germs can enter and cause infection.

If gloves aren’t available for a change, mention it to the clinic rather than quietly working around it. Supplies are something a wound service can usually help with.

What to watch for

Put on clean medical gloves if the wound is infected, meaning red or oozing, or if you are changing the dressing for someone else. The gloves do not need to be sterile.

Use a fresh pair for each stage of a packed dressing change, with handwashing in between.

Gloves do not replace handwashing. You need both, before and after each change.

If supplies are running short, raise it with the clinic rather than skipping a step.

Wound Wizard is general education and is not a substitute for being shown. The clinician managing the wound is the right person to ask.

What we look at

  • Teaching the dressing change technique
  • Specifying what supplies are needed
  • Advising whether this wound needs anything beyond clean technique
  • Reviewing how the changes are going

Sources

  1. Surgical wound care - closed — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000738.htm
  2. Surgical wound care - open — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000040.htm
  3. Wet-to-dry dressing changes — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000315.htm
  4. How wounds heal — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000741.htm