Material from this chapter has been adapted from guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

STANDARD PRECAUTIONS

Use Standard Precautions, or the equivalent, for the care of all patients.

Standard Precautions apply to (1) blood; (2) all body fluids, secretions, and excretions except sweat, regardless of whether or not they contain visible blood; (3) nonintact skin; and (4) mucous membranes. Standard Precautions are designed to reduce the risk of transmission of microorganisms from both recognized and unrecognized sources of infection in hospitals.

Hand Hygiene/Hand Washing/Hand Decontamination

Wash with soap and water when hands are visibly dirty or visibly soiled with blood or other body fluids. If hands are not visibly soiled, hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content may be used.

Perform hand hygiene/decontaminate hands before:

• having direct contact with patients

• donning sterile gloves before sterile procedures

• moving from a contaminated-body site to a clean-body site

• eating during patient care

Perform hand hygiene/decontaminate hands after:

• contact with a patient's intact skin

• contact with body fluids or excretions, mucous membranes, nonintact skin, wound dressings, or inanimate objects in the immediate vicinity of the patient

• removing gloves

• using a restroom

If exposure to Bacillus anthracis is suspected or confirmed:

• physically washing and rinsing hands under such circumstances is recommended because alcohols, chlorhexidine, iodophors, and other antiseptic agents have poor activity against spores

Gloves

Wear gloves (clean, nonsterile gloves are adequate) when touching blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions, and contaminated items.