Wear a mask and eye protection if splashing is possible. Hospital protocol will
determine what type of eye protection is required for each specific case. (Reason:
Infection could enter your body through the mucous membranes of your mouth or nose
or through your eyes.)
Dispose of sharp objects carefully. Do not recap or break needles. Needles and sharp
objects are placed in a special container after use. (Reason: There is a possibility of
accidental finger stick. It is important to protect yourself and housekeeping personnel.)
If you have an on-the-job accident that causes a break in the skin, notify your nursing
supervisor immediately. (Reason: Immediate precautions must be taken to protect
you.)
Special care is taken of a deceased patient's body. (Reason: To prevent leakage of
body substances. It is safer to assume that all patients are infectious.)
All health care workers who perform or assist in vaginal or cesarean delivery should
wear gloves and gowns when handling the placenta or the infant until blood and
amniotic fluid have been removed from the infant's skin. Gloves should be worn until
after postdelivery care of the umbilical cord.
Pregnant health care workers are not known to be at greater risk of contracting HIV
infection than health care workers who are not pregnant; however, if a health care
worker develops HIV infection during pregnancy, the infant is at risk. Because of this
risk, pregnant health care workers should be especially familiar with and strictly adhere
to precautions to minimize the risk of HIV transmission.
(Adapted from Centers for Disease Control: Recommendations for prevention of HIV
transmission in health care settings. MMWR 36: Suppl. 25: 1987. Centers for Disease
Control: Update: Universal precautions for prevention or transmission of human
immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and other blood-borne pathogens in health-
care settings. MMWR 37: 24, 1988)
END OF UNIVERSAL BODY SUBSTANCES
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