How to Put On and Remove a Thumb-Loop Isolation Gown: Embalming PPE Donning and Doffing

Step-by-step donning and doffing for thumb-loop isolation gowns, based on CDC sequences, with prep-room tips.
3 min read
Open back of a blue plastic isolation gown with long ties

A gown only protects you if it goes on and comes off correctly. These steps follow the CDC's published sequences, adapted for a thumb-loop gown. Always follow your facility's own exposure-control plan.

Putting it on (donning)

  1. Hand hygiene first. Remove jewelry and wash or sanitize your hands.
  2. Check the gown. Look for tears or defects before you put it on.
  3. Slip it over your head. The CDC says a gown should cover the torso from neck to knees and arms to the end of the wrists. Let the open back fall behind you with the long ties hanging free.
  4. Hook the thumb loops. Put each thumb through its loop so the cuff sits flat over the back of your hand.
  5. Tie the back ties. Bring the long ties around and tie them in a bow, not a tight knot, so the gown tears or slips off cleanly.
  6. Mask, eye and face protection.
  7. Gloves last, over the cuff. Pull the glove cuff over the gown cuff and past the thumb loop.

Plastic thumb-loop isolation gown with the long back ties tied in a bow

Taking it off (doffing)

The CDC shows two acceptable sequences. In one, you remove gloves first, then the gown. In the other, you remove the gown and gloves together, which works well with thumb loops because the loops come off with the gloves.

  1. Grasp the gown at the front and pull it away from your body so the ties or the thin film break free, touching only the outside with gloved hands.
  2. Peel the gown off your shoulders and roll it inside out as you go.
  3. As the sleeves come off, peel the gloves off with them, touching only the inside of the gloves and gown with bare hands.
  4. Roll everything into a bundle and drop it into the waste container.
  5. Remove eye protection and mask, then perform hand hygiene immediately.

Prep-room tips

  • Keep an opened case of gowns at the gowning station, outside the splash zone.
  • Use a new gown for every case. Don't reuse disposable gowns.
  • If a gown soaks through or tears, replace it right away. See prep room PPE problems and solutions.

Stock up on AME thumb loop isolation gowns, 100 per case, in blue or pink.

AME thumb loop isolation gowns, 100 per case

Impervious polyethylene embalming gowns with thin plastic thumb loops, one universal size, in blue or pink. From $97.02 per case of 100, in 100-gown steps up to 1,000. See case pricing and specs or request a bulk quote.

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