Blood on the Extractor and a Disinfectant Past Its Prime
During a 75-minute facial, an esthetician uses a reusable metal extractor on several closed comedones. On the fourth lesion, a small amount of blood appears. She wipes it with a tissue, continues with the same extractor on two more lesions, then drops the extractor into a cup of blue disinfectant that has been sitting since yesterday. She is not wearing gloves. A single-use lancet was used earlier and is on the cart with used gauze. At the end, she sprays the treatment table with a bottle labeled cleaner, folds the soiled linens, and places them in a closed hamper. She washes her hands for five seconds and answers a phone call before greeting the next client. The disinfectant label says tuberculocidal, 10-minute contact time.
1. Identify the sanitation and bloodborne-pathogen breaches in this scenario and explain the risk of each.
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The breaches start with the blood contact. The esthetician used the same extractor after it contacted blood, which can transfer bloodborne pathogens to the next client. She did not wear gloves, wiped blood with a tissue, and continued treatment. The blue disinfectant had been sitting since yesterday and may be past its use life or incorrectly diluted; the label requires a 10-minute contact time, and dropping a blood-contaminated tool into it without cleaning is not enough. The single-use lancet should be in a sharps container, not loose on the cart. Used gauze is blood-contaminated waste. Spraying the table with a product labeled only cleaner may not be an EPA-registered hospital disinfectant. Five seconds of handwashing is inadequate, and answering the phone before the next client contaminates the phone and hands. Folded soiled linens can spread contamination.
2. Give the correct sequence for handling the blood exposure and reprocessing the equipment and surfaces.
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Correct sequence: stop the service, put on gloves, and apply pressure with clean gauze. Clean the wound, cover it, and remove contaminated gloves. Clean the extractor with soap and water to remove debris, then immerse it in an EPA-registered hospital-grade tuberculocidal disinfectant for the full label contact time, usually 10 minutes. Place the lancet in a sharps container and blood-contaminated gauze in a biohazard bag. Clean and disinfect the table and any touched surfaces with the correct disinfectant. Discard linens into a closed hamper. Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Document the exposure and follow the salon's exposure control plan; if the esthetician has cuts or the client's blood contacted her skin, seek medical advice. Do not use the extractor again until it has been disinfected.