Whether you call them "standard precautions," "bloodborne pathogen precautions" or "universal precautions," OSHA's standard 1910.1030 was drafted to keep people safe from diseases that can be transmitted by body fluids. Universal precautions were mainly directed at the healthcare field, particularly to those workers involved in the care of patients, all employers—even outside the healthcare industry—ought to be aware of universal precautions. They can apply to just about any organization where people may be exposed to others who fall sick or become injured.

Universal?

The purpose of universal precautions is to prevent contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials such as other body fluids including vomit, urine, saliva, feces and mucus.

If an accident happens and body fluids are present, there is the theoretical potential for disease to spread if another person comes in contact with even a tiny amount of that fluid. Universal precautions treats all people ("universal") as if they might be a carrier of a blood-borne pathogen.

The Basics of Universal Precautions

The foundation of Universal Precautions is to avoid contact with the body fluids of another person. In some occupations, such as nursing or dentistry, contact with body fluids is to be reasonably expected during the course of the workday. For such employees, personal protective equipment should be used (gloves, goggles, face shields, gowns, and so on).

In other workplaces, there is no reasonable expectation that an employee would come into contact with another person's body fluids during the workday—but accidents do happen. For example, if someone vomits or gets cut and bleeds in the workplace, the potential for possible blood-borne pathogen transmission exists. In such organizations, the best defense is to wear gloves as a barrier if an employee might have to clean or come in contact with the fluid. The best choice for protective gloves are non-porous, non-latex gloves. (Latex gloves work fine but some people are allergic to latex.)

A Few Tips

  • Be prepared. If your organization is not one that reasonably expects to have contact with blood-borne pathogens, you should still have some non-porous gloves available to employees at all times in the workplace.
    • Gloves come in four main sizes (small, medium, large, and extra-large). The supply should include gloves that fit all employees. Individuals with large hands may not be able to fit into a small glove. However, if the glove is too large, it may slip or allow intrusion of fluid.
    • A variety of sizes is best for a large workplace.
    • Although latex gloves are fine, some people are allergic to latex. Non-latex is a good choice that works for everyone.
    • Always dispose of used gloves; never re-use them.
    • Encourage employees to change gloves if they become soiled, that is, an employee cleaning up body fluids may need to use more than one pair of gloves for one task.
    • Do not assume that hands are clean, even when gloves are worn. Always wash hands thoroughly when gloves are removed.
    • Speaking of hand hygiene...Hands should be washed thoroughly before and after using gloves. The CDC's Hand Hygiene Basics offers more information. [LINK: http://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/Basics.html.]
  • Cleaning personnel may come in contact with body fluids and should be considered as part of Universal Precautions (for instance, cleaning of restrooms, emptying trash).

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can also be used, particularly when changing gloves (from one pair to another). As a general rule, hand sanitizers can be used when there is no visible soiling of the hands but hands may have come in contact with pathogens. Whenever there is any kind of visible soiling of the hands, soap and water should be used instead of an alcohol rub. Do not use soap and water along with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer at the same time since it dilutes the hand sanitizer.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_precautions

http://safety.lovetoknow.com/OSHA_Standard_Precautions

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=10051

CDC hand hygiene

http://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/Basics.html

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