Standard Precautions:

Who, What, When, Where, & Why

Illinois CTE
Curriculum Revitalization Initiative
Health Science and Technology
Do you know how to
protect yourself and others
from infection?

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Do you know what to do if you
come in contact with blood?

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Two Types of Isolation
Precautions
 These are precautions that prevent the
spread of contagious or communicable
diseases
 diseases caused by pathogens that spread
easily
 Include standard precautions and
transmission-based precautions.

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Standard Precautions
 Rules developed by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
 Every body fluid must be considered a potentially
infectious material, and all patients must be considered
potential sources of infection, regardless of their disease
or diagnosis.
 Standard precautions must be observed while working
with all patients because health care providers may
contact blood, body fluids, secretions and excretions
such as mucus, sputum, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid,
urine, feces, vomitus, amniotic fluid, semen, and vaginal
secretions; mucous membranes; and non-intact skin.

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Blood
 The fluid that circulates in the heart,
arteries, capillaries, and veins of a
vertebrate animal, carrying nourishment
and oxygen to, and bringing waste
products from, all parts of the body

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Mucus
 A viscid, slippery secretion that is usually
rich in mucins and is produced by mucous
membranes, which it moistens and
protects

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Sputum
 The matter discharged from the air
passages in diseases of the lungs,
bronchi, or upper respiratory tract; it
contains mucus and often pus, blood,
fibrin, or bacterial products

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Saliva
 A slightly alkaline secretion of water,
mucin, protein, salts, and often a starch-
splitting enzyme (such as ptyalin) that is
secreted into the mouth by salivary glands,
lubricates ingested food, and often begins
the breakdown of starches

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Cerebrospinal fluid
 A liquid comparable to serum but contains less
dissolved material that is secreted from the
blood into the lateral ventricles of the brain by
the choroid plexus, circulates through the
ventricles to the spaces between the meninges
about the brain and spinal cord, and is resorbed
into the blood through the subarachnoid sinuses;
it serves chiefly to maintain uniform pressure
within the brain and spinal cord (also called
spinal fluid or CSF)

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Urine

 Waste material that is secreted by the

kidney, is rich in end products (such as
urea, uric acid, and creatinine) of protein
metabolism together with salts and
pigments, and forms a clear amber and
usually slightly acidic fluid

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Feces
 Bodily waste discharged through the anus

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Vomitus
 Stomach contents disgorged through the
mouth (also called vomit)

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Amniotic Fluid
 The serous fluid in
which the embryo and
fetus is suspended
within the amnion

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Semen
 A viscid, whitish fluid of the male
reproductive tract consisting of
spermatozoa suspended in secretions of
accessory glands (such as the prostate
and Cowper’s glands)

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Vaginal Secretions
 The process of segregating, elaborating,
and releasing some material either
functionally specialized or isolated for
excretion from the vagina

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Non-intact Skin
 Skin with open breaks

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Interstitial fluid
 Liquid that fills the space between most of
the cells of the body

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Pleural fluid

 Liquid that surrounds the lungs

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Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE)
 The clothing or equipment worn
by an employee for protection against a
hazard

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Airborne
 Particles that float in the air

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Droplet
 A small drop of fluid

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Contact Precautions
 Rules that must be followed for any
patients known or suspected to be infected
with microorganisms that can be
transmitted by either direct or indirect
contact

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Prevention of the
Transmission of Disease
 Health care facility’s infection control program
 Immunization of health care workers
 Training of health care personnel
 Policies and procedures for device- and procedure-
oriented services
 Reporting and tracking of the transmission of disease by
the CDC
 Provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) such
as gloves, gowns, lab coats, masks, and face shields in
appropriate sizes and in accessible locations

IL CTE- Health Science & Technology

Prevention of the
Transmission of Disease
 Provision of adequate hand-washing facilities and
supplies
 Identification of jobs with high-risk exposure
 Provision of medical care and evaluation for any
employee who has an exposure incident
 Provision of appropriate waste and disposal containers
and guidelines for disposal
 Enforcement of rules of no eating, drinking, smoking,
applying cosmetics or lip balms, handling contact lenses,
and mouth-pipetting or suctioning in any area that can be
potentially contaminated.

IL CTE- Health Science & Technology