Safety precautions for occupational exposure

All blood and body fluids should be treated as being potentially infectious.

The following precautions are recommended:

• wash hands after each patient contact and after contact with blood or body fluids

• use appropriate personal protective equipment

• wear disposable gloves whenever working with blood or body fluids

• wear disposable plastic aprons/impermeable gowns when there is the possibility of splashing with blood or body fluids

• use eye protection (visors, goggles or safety spectacles) when blood, body fluids or flying contaminated debris/tissue might splash into the face

• cover any cuts or abrasions with waterproof plasters

• dispose of sharps immediately into appropriate, puncture-proofsharps bins

• do not overfill sharps containers and never re-sheath needles.

Many incidents of occupational exposure can be prevented with adherence to standard precautions for the safe handling and disposal of clinical waste.