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Controlling Infections With Safety Gear

Any situation where there is patient care such as hospitals, nursing homes, private care homes, or even in your own home can be a situation where controlling infections can be aided by the wearing of protective gear. Protective gear can be the wearing of gloves, facemask, eye protection or a protective gown.

Safety gear is a very important part of infection control. Your gear can be the barrier between you and infection. The gear protects you, and your patients. Safety gear can be used in hospital environments, in private patient care and in homes.

Safety gear should be worn in all situations where contaminants, infectious sources or patients with infectious diseases are encountered. OSHA has strict guidelines for use that must be adhered to by all personnel.

Gloves are worn to protect against contamination from body fluids, excretions, secretions, blood and open wounds. Gloves are no substitution for good hand hygiene but an addition to it. Gloves should be changed between patients and hands washed after removal of the gloves.

Protective face gear should be worn when necessary to prevent splashing of blood, moist body substances and such into the eyes, mouth and nose. These must be discarded after being worn once and never re-used.

Gowns should be used to prevent soiling of clothes when performing procedures where blood-borne pathogens, or body fluids are present. Gowns should be worn once and then thrown away.

Respirator masks that are approved for TB use should be worn when caring for patients that are known to be or suspected of being infected with pulmonary TB disease, or a patient with a possible airborne transmitted disease. These patients should be isolated from other patients.

Disposal Equipment is part of Safety Gear:

Use the correct receptacles to dispose of anything that may be infectious.

Sharps should also be handled with care, to prevent needle stick injuries, which can transmit infection. Needles should never be re-capped, purposely bent or broken. The person who used the sharp should immediately place needles in a designated puncture-resistant sharps container for disposal.

All waste generated by a patient and any disposable medical supplies should be considered potentially infectious and should be discarded into a plastic-lined, waste receptacle.

Soiled linen is also considered to be potentially infectious and should be placed in leak-resistant bags and taken directly to the laundry room.

All environmental surfaces should be disinfected in between patients and equipment wiped down with EPA-approved disinfectant after each patient use.

It is critically important to use safety gear when performing invasive procedures. Physicians should use sterile gowns, gloves, masks and should always practice barrier technique and take every precaution to control infection. Sterile sheets and drapes should be used. These should be stored in clean, dry areas away from contaminated areas and never stored in boxes on the floor.

Staff suspected of being ill should never work with patients undergoing invasive procedures.