Journal of Prevention and Infection Control Open Access

Standard precautions for prevention and infection control were stated below.

Standard precautions: Standard precautions are to set infection control practices which are used to prevent the transmission of diseases that acquired by the contact with blood, body fluids, non-intact skin (including rashes), and mucous membranes. These precaution measures are used while providing care to all individuals, whether they appear infectious or symptomatic or not.

Hand Hygiene: Hand hygiene refers to both washing with normal or plain water or anti-bacterial soap and water. Alcohol gel is also used to decontaminate hands. Alcohol gel is preferred method of hand hygiene when providing health care to clients. Hand hygiene will be performed before and after contacting patients, soon after touching blood, body fluids, non-intact skin, mucous membranes, or contaminated items (even when gloves are worn during contact), after removing gloves, when moving from contaminated body sites to clean body sites during client care, after touching objects and medical equipment in the immediate client-care vicinity, before eating, after using the restroom, and after coughing or sneezing into a tissue as part of respiratory hygiene.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): PPE includes masks, goggles, gloves, gowns, eye wears, respirators, which are used to create barriers to our skin, respiratory tract, mucous membranes, clothing, will protect from the infectious agents. The items in PPE are selected for use and depend on the type of interaction a public health worker will have with a client and likely modes of transmission of disease.

Needle sticks and sharps injury prevention: The safety devices on needles and other sharps should be activated soon after their use, used needles should be discarded immediately and should not recapped, cut, bent, removed from the syringe or tube holder. Any used contaminated sharps like needles, lancets, or other should be placed in a leak-proof or puncture-resistant sharps container which are either red in color or labeled with a biohazard label, Do not overfill sharps containers, Used sharps containers may be taken to a collection facility such as an area pharmacy, hospital, or clinic that provides this service.

Cleaning and Disinfection: Common waiting areas, Client care areas, and other areas where clients may have contaminated the objects or surfaces which are frequently touched by the staff and clients (doorknobs, sinks, toilets, other surfaces and items in close proximity to clients) should be cleaned routinely with disinfectants, following the instructions given by the manufacturer for amount, dilution, and contact time.

Respiratory Hygiene: Covering the mouth and nose with a tissue while coughing or sneezing or using the crook of the elbow to contain respiratory droplets, Using tissues to contain respiratory secretions and discarding in the nearest waste receptacle after use, Performing hand hygiene (hand washing with nonantimicrobial soap and water, alcohol-based hand rub, or antiseptic hand wash) after contacting with the respiratory secretions and contaminated objects/materials, Asking clients with signs and symptoms of respiratory illness to wear a surgical mask while waiting in common areas or placing them in examination rooms or areas away from others. Provide tissues and no-touch receptacles for used tissue disposal, Spacing seating in waiting areas should be at least 3 feet apart to minimize close contact among persons in those areas, Supplies such as tissues, alcohol gel, surgical masks, and waste baskets should be provided in the waiting areas or common areas in local public health agencies.

Waste Disposal: Sharp items should be disposed in containers which are closable, puncture resistant, leak-proof, and labeled with the biohazard symbol or red in color. Sharps containers should be replaced when filled up to the indicated full line. Syringes or blood collection tube holders attached to needles should be discarded still attached to the needles. Non-sharp disposable items saturated with blood or body fluids (i.e., fluid can be poured or squeezed from the item or fluid is flaking or dripping from the item) should be discarded into biohazard bags that are puncture-resistant, leak-proof, and labeled with a biohazard symbol or red in color. Such items may include used PPE and disposable rags or cloths.