Slide Gloves: A Simple Anti-Shear Tool That Makes a Big Difference

If you care for someone at home, or you're exploring ways to make daily tasks easier for yourself, slide gloves are one of those products that often fly under the radar, but once people discover them, they wonder how they managed without them.

Slide gloves are lightweight, easy to use, and versatile enough to be helpful across a range of everyday care tasks. For family carers, they're a practical, low-cost addition to any home care setup, small enough to keep in a bedside drawer and ready when needed.

What are slide gloves?

Slide gloves are low-friction gloves designed to reduce the effort involved when moving or assisting a patient. They're worn by the carer and work by allowing hands to glide smoothly under and around the person being assisted, reducing friction, resistance, and the physical strain that might otherwise require more force or awkward positioning.

Where do they come in handy?

In-Bed Repositioning: Slide gloves make it easier to get hands underneath a patient's back, hips, or ankles to help with small adjustments, turning, or moving them up the bed.
Adjusting Seating: Caregivers can use them to gently reposition a patient who has slipped forward in their chair, sliding hands under the hips to ease them back into a better position.
Fitting Slings: When positioning a lifting sling, slide gloves help smooth the process, making it easier to guide the sling underneath a patient without bunching or resistance.
Dressing & Undressing: Pulling clothing, sleeves, or compression stockings on and off becomes much easier when slide gloves reduce the friction against skin.
Skin & Pressure Care: They can also help with smoothing out wrinkled bedding and relieving skin tension around pressure areas, reducing friction and shearing forces on vulnerable skin, making them a useful anti-shear aid in everyday care.

Not a replacement for professional advice

Every care situation is different, and slide gloves are just one piece of the puzzle. If you're unsure whether they're the right fit for your client or loved one, it's always worth a conversation with an Occupational Therapist or healthcare professional.

Want to see them in action?

We've put together a video that shows slide gloves being used, so you can get a clear sense of what they look like in practice.