I have done that for years and never dropped an ipad. But there is a secret: pick a hard ipad cover that only folds at the edge of the ipad, like a book. Then you can stick your finger between the cover and the ipad and hold it like that:

https://imgur.com/n22Ce1p

https://imgur.com/De9VBCx

This way, you can hold it with one hand, you don't need to apply pressure to hold the ipad, it is not tiring on your hands, and it is extremely stable. The cover I use I believe is this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invision-Superior-Features-Magnetic...

Otherwise the ipad is splash proof, but I wouldn't bet on it being waterproof. And wet hands aren't too much of a problem from a touch point of view, but they leave drops that obstruct the display so you kind of want to have a towel around somewhere.