In a bid to protect themselves against coronavirus, shoppers have been protecting themselves with masks, gloves, and in some occasions, hazmat suits while out buying their essentials.
However, some of the protective gear may not be as effective as we first thought, and could be causing more harm than good, according to one doctor.
Dr Karan Raj, an NHS surgeon, shared a video on TikTok warning against wearing gloves while shopping.
In the video, Dr Raj, who is wearing medical gloves, draws on his hand, showing how germs can accumulate as you touch things like baskets, trolleys and self-service checkout machines which have been used by other shoppers.
According to the Mirror, as you continue to wear your gloves on your way home or throughout the day, the gloves continue to come into contact with more and more germs, which you be easily and unknowingly transferred by touching yourself or items like your phone.
The surgeon said: "Your glove is now more full of germs than your hand would have been if you had washed each time.
"Remember, with these same gloves you'll be touching your steering wheel, you might accidentally touch your [face] transferring the germs to yourself.
"And then when you're changing your gloves, you might be actually touching the glove itself.
"Just wash your hands, be sensible, stay safe."
The government advises washing your hands thoroughly as frequently as possible - and always after touching hard surfaces which may have been infected by others.
T he official Government guidelines state: "Wash your hands more often than usual, for 20 seconds using soap and hot water, particularly after coughing, sneezing and blowing your nose, or after being in public areas where other people are doing so. Use hand sanitiser if that’s all you have access to.
"Clean and disinfect regularly touched objects and surfaces using your regular cleaning products to reduce the risk of passing the infection on to other people."
