Many or most of these items are disposable to avoid carrying infectious materials from one patient to another patient and to avoid difficult or costly disinfection. In the US, OSHA requires the immediate removal and disinfection or disposal of a workers PPE prior to leaving the work area where exposure to infectious material took place. For health care professionals who may come into contact with highly infectious bodily fluids, using personal protective coverings on exposed body parts improves protection. Breathable personal protective equipment improves user-satisfaction and may offer a similar level of protection. In addition, adding tabs and other modifications to the protective equipment may reduce the risk of contamination during donning and doffing (putting on and taking off the equipment). Implementing an evidence-based donning and doffing protocol such as a one-step glove and gown removal technique, giving oral instructions while donning and doffing, double gloving, and the use of glove disinfection may also improve protection for health care professionals.Guidelines set by the ANA and ANAA for proper use of disposable gloves include, removing and replacing gloves frequently and when they are contaminated, damaged, or in between treatment of multiple patients.
Although formaldehyde is less expensive than glutaraldehydes, it is also more irritating to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract and is classified as a potential carcinogen, so it is used much less commonly. Ionizing radiation is typically used only for sterilizing items for which none of the above methods are practical, because of the risks involved in the process

Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is specialized clothing or equipment worn by a worker for protection against a hazard. The hazard in a health care setting is exposure to blood, saliva, or other bodily fluids or aerosols that may carry infectious materials such as Hepatitis C, HIV, or other blood borne or bodily fluid pathogen. PPE prevents contact with a potentially infectious material by creating a physical barrier between the potential infectious material and the healthcare worker.The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by workers to guard against blood borne pathogens if there is a reasonably anticipated exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials.Components of PPE include gloves, gowns, bonnets, shoe covers, face shields, CPR masks, goggles, surgical masks, and respirators. How many components are used and how the components are used is often determined by regulations or the infection control protocol of the facility in question, which in turn are derived from knowledge of the mechanism of transmission of the pathogen(s) of concern.