Infection Control, Sanitation, and Sterilization
The hierarchy
Distinguish sanitation (cleaning to reduce contaminants), disinfection (destroying most pathogens on surfaces), and sterilization (destroying all microbial life, including spores). Needles and any item that penetrates skin or contacts blood must be single-use sterile or sterilized by an approved method such as autoclave.
Understand standard precautions: hand hygiene, gloves, eye protection, and safe sharps handling. Work surfaces are disinfected before and after each client. Linens are clean or disposable. Waste is segregated, and sharps go into puncture-resistant containers.
Traps in questions
- Disinfection is not sterilization; only sterilization kills spores.
- Reusing a needle after wiping with alcohol is never acceptable.
- Gloves do not replace hand hygiene.
- Contaminated items must be cleaned before disinfection or sterilization; debris blocks the process.
Rule of thumb
"If it penetrates skin or touches blood, it is sterile and single-use or autoclaved; if it touches intact skin or surfaces, it is disinfected; everything gets cleaned first."