E 5141.23Precautions for Infectious Disease Prevention

Precautions for Infectious Disease Prevention

Hand washing is the single most important technique for preventing the spread of casually transmitted diseases. Handwashing is one of the best ways to protect yourself and your family from getting sick. If soap and water are not readily available, use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol to clean your hands. Hands should be washed thoroughly for 20 to 30 seconds with soap and warm running water, rinsed under running water, and thoroughly dried with paper towels:

1.      before eating, drinking, or feeding, or playing on the playground (School Nursing a Comprehensive text, 3^rd edition, pg. 314)

2.      before handling food, clean utensils or kitchen equipment;

3.      before and after using the toilet or diapering; and

4.      before and after providing care to students. (School Nursing a Comprehensive text, 3^rd edition, pg. 314)

5.      before and after giving meds. (School Nursing a Comprehensive text, 3^rd edition, pg. 314)

6.      and after contact with infectious materials.

7.      after accidental contact with body secretions such as blood, urine, feces,

         mucus, saliva, or drainage from wounds, or with soiled garments, equipment, diapers or menstrual pads. (School Nursing a Comprehensive text, 3^rd edition, pg. 314)

8.      After handling garbage. (School Nursing a Comprehensive text, 3^rd edition, pg.314)

Washing your hands is easy, and it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs. Clean hands can help stop germs from spreading from one person to another and in our communities—including your home, workplace, schools, and childcare facilities.

Please click the link below to review hand hygiene technique.

https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/videos.html

https://youtu.be/eZw4Ga3jg3E

Protective barriers reduce the risk of exposure of the health-care worker's skin or mucous membranes to potentially infective materials. Standard precautions (previously called universal precautions), (School Nursing a Comprehensive text, 3^rd edition, pg. 316) means the use of barriers and protective measures when dealing with blood, non-intact skin, mucous membranes and all body fluids and excretions. Protective barriers reduce the risk of exposure to blood, body fluids containing visible blood, and other fluids to which standard precautions apply. Standard precautions are to be implemented consistently by all employees to reduce the risk for trans-mission of pathogens via contact regardless of diagnosis or infection status. Examples of protective barriers include gloves, gowns, masks, and protective eyewear.

-Gloves should reduce the incidence of contamination of hands, but they cannot prevent penetrating injuries due to needles or other sharp instruments.

Nonsterile disposable gloves should be worn when handling blood (such as providing care for nosebleeds, bleeding gums, cuts or wounds); blood-soiled items (such as menstrual pads, bandages or clothing); secretions (particularly from open sores or wounds); vomit, urine or feces; as well as surfaces, materials, and objects exposed to them. The use of gloves is not a substitute for washing one’s hands. (School Nursing a Comprehensive text, 3^rd edition, pg. 314)

-Masks and protective eyewear or face shields should reduce the incidence of contamination of mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and eyes.

Gowns or smocks should be worn if soiling of clothing by body fluids, secretions or excretions is anticipated.  Your hands should be washed thoroughly after removing gowns or gloves.

Personnel and students with open skin lesions (such as chapped or broken skin, eczema, sores, cuts, or wounds) should particularly avoid contact with blood, blood-soiled items, or secretions, and should cover their lesions with occlusive dressings or gloves when possible.

Precautions for Infectious Disease Prevention(continued)

Surfaces contaminated with body secretions should be washed with soap and water and disinfected promptly with a freshly prepared solution of bleach (ten parts water to one part bleach) or another EPA approved cleaner.  Disposable towels should be used whenever possible, and mops should be disinfected in the bleach solution.

Articles and clothing soiled with blood, vomit, feces, urine or other body discharges should be placed in leak proof plastic bags for proper disposal or washing.

Extraordinary care should be taken to prevent accidental wounds from potentially contaminated sharp instruments such as needles, scissors, or knives.

Food and drinks should not be shared.  Separate eating utensils, glasses and cups should be used.

Sanitary conditions should be maintained throughout the facility, with established routines for frequently cleaning floors, sinks, faucets, tabletops, doorknobs, telephones, etc. Custodians see to it that floors, tables, and other surfaces are cleaned: that certain surfaces need to be not just cleaned but sanitized. (School Nursing a Comprehensive text, 3^rd edition, pg. 316)

Students with infectious conditions have the right to a free and appropriate condition as long as they are not a risk to public safety. Students with chronic infectious disease may benefit from the development of a 504 plan. (School Nursing a Comprehensive text, 3^rd edition, pg.  314)

5/2024