When should you change your gloves?

• A. Before every touch
• B. After every touch
• C. At end of shift
• D. Only when visibly soiled

Answer: (A)

In this context, the key practice is preventing cross-contamination. Changing gloves before touching a new item ensures that you start every handling with a clean barrier, so residues or trace materials from the previous item aren’t transferred to the next one. Gloves can harbor contaminants even when they look clean, and changing before every touch minimizes the risk to evidence integrity and personal protection.

If you wait to change only after touching something, or only when you think they’re dirty, there’s a real chance of transferring material during the interim. Waiting until the end of a shift is far too late, and relying on observable dirt is unreliable because many contaminants aren’t visible. So, changing gloves before each new item you handle is the best safeguard.