You should wash your hands with anti bacterial soap and
water when they are visibly soiled or after caring for a resident with diarrhea.
Otherwise, use an alcohol based hand rub.
You should was your hands for a minimum 15 seconds with soap and water.
You should follow the steps described here to effectively wash your hands.
Standard precautions are a cornerstone of infection control.
They are based on the assumption that all moist body fluids from
all residents are colonized or infected with one or more bad bugs.
The general rule of thumb is that if it is warm, wet and
not yours, standard precautions apply.
We have already reviewed hand hygiene, the first element of standard precautions.
We will review some of the elements of standard precautions that
are important for preventing the spread of bad bugs.
Gowns, gloves, and mask are also an important aspect of standard precautions
and further prevent the spread of bad bugs when they are utilized appropriately.
They are intended to protect the user from contamination and
should always be used when there's potential for contact with blood or
potentially contaminated body fluids such as urine or stool.
Hand hygiene should always be performed before
putting on personal protective equipment or PPE.
And following removal.
Gloves should be worn anytime there is anticipated contact with blood or
other potentially infectious material.
Glove should be changed during resident care if the hands move
from a dirty body site like the groin to a clean body site, like the face.
The same pair of gloves should not be used for more than one patient and
should never be washed and reused.
Hands should be washed after glove removal.
Gowns are used to protect the user's clothes and
bare skin from contamination that could occur during resident care.
Like with gloves, gowns should be worn when there is the potential for
contamination of the skin or clothes during resident care.
Gowns should not be reused or used for
multiple residents, even those in the same room.
Mask and eye protection should be worn when there is potential for
splash or spray of blood, respiratory secretions, or other body fluids.
Masks should be changed if they become wet and discarded after care of the resident.
You may be able to disinfect and reuse eye protection depending on the manufacturer.
Another very important part of controlling the spread of bad bugs is room placement.
A private room is preferred for residents who are colonized or
infected with a bad bug.
If a private room is not available,
the next best option is to place the colonized or
infected resident into a room with another resident with the same type of bad bug.
Meaning MRSA positive resident rooms with an MRSA positive resident or VRE with VRE.
Residents with two different bad bugs should never be put in the same
room together.
The third option is to place a resident with the bad bug
in a room with the healthiest resident possible
because the healthiest resident has the lowest risk for getting the bad bug.
