Standard Precautions
Posted By Chris on July 7, 2010
Some diseases such as Hepatitis B and C and HIV/AIDS may go undiagnosed for years, yet they are infectious to others. The H1N1 Influenza virus is infectious and transmissible days before the infected person has any signs and symptoms of disease. Although a history and physical may give us pertinent information regarding the health history of a patient, it may not always tell the whole story. Standard Precautions are practices health care workers use when coming in contact with all patients, at all times, regardless of their documented health status.
The term Standard Precautions speaks for itself. These are basic precautions taken to reduce the possibility of coming in contact with infectious body fluids including blood, secretions, excretions, non-intact skin and mucous membranes. In other words, anything that is warm and wet, except for sweat. Standard Precautions include hand washing, using alcohol hand sanitizers when there are no visible signs of soiling, and barriers such as gloves, gowns, masks and goggles, depending on the situation.
Transmission Based Precautions offer an added level of protection when the route of transmission is suspected or confirmed. See the CDC 2007 Isolation Guidelines for more information on Droplet, Contact and Airborne Precautions;
CDC/HICPAC Isolation Precautions 2007
There you will also find Appendix A for type and duration of isolation precautions (pg. 94). These recommendations are the accepted standard for hospitals and long-term care facilities.
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[...] its presence to the staff and educate them to its definition, treatment and potential precautions. Standard Precautions are a good place to start; utilize Transmission Based Precautions if necessary and always follow [...]