No Germs

"That's not sterile!" I was talking about gloves. People will think the gloves are there to protect them. That's not the case. The gloves are to protect me.  I don't want your germs.
 

Now this video shows super-ultra sterile gloves before a surgical procedure. I watched a nurse once train a new/student nurse. I used to have a trache tube in my neck, and the cleaning kit (the trache was removed for cleaning) had some. Student nurses were common at this hospital, so I was in school again.

This video gives you an idea about sterility. We don't have to be this sterile at home since we are not doing surgical procedures. However, we do need to be clean and take general precaution against germs, especially if your loved one recently got out of the hospital after an extended stay. A person can lose his/her immunity to general household germs if in a sterile environment for a while.

At home, I keep a box of exam gloves. It's common to use 1-2 boxes a month. Keep a can of Lysol or something like it handy. A can can last me about 2 months, but I use it daily (almost daily) on the main computer keyboard as I am not the only user. The box of exam gloves say 'non-sterile', usually. That's because they are not individually wrapped and protected from the elements like the ones in the video. I don't know if other measures are taken.

The gloves are for the patient's protection, not yours. You can't catch a brain injury, but (this happened to me) a brain injured person can get e coli because you didn't wear gloves after feeding your dog. (That was the plausible explanation the doctor came up with.) You can pick up germs from touching surfaces, shaking hands, or even going to the bathroom. Germs can be missed during hand-washing, but exam gloves protect against these.

Just a quick mention, use a face mask if you have a cold. I don't want your germs and I don't appreciate your snot dripping on me!