Infection Control and Standard Precautions
The chain and the basics
Infection requires a germ, a reservoir, a way out, a way in, and a susceptible host. Hand hygiene breaks the chain better than anything else. Wash with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, scrubbing under nails and between fingers; use alcohol-based rub when hands are not visibly soiled. Wash with soap and water after contact with C. difficile or norovirus because alcohol does not kill spores, and always after using the bathroom, before eating, and before and after gloves.
Standard precautions
Treat all blood, body fluids, secretions, non-intact skin, and mucous membranes as infectious. Wear gloves for contact with these; add a gown, mask, and eye protection when splashing is likely. Don PPE in the order gown, mask, goggles, then gloves; remove in the order gloves, goggles, gown, then mask, with the mask last by its straps. Never snap or shake linens, never recap needles, and clean spills per policy. Remove gloves without touching the outside and wash hands immediately.
Transmission-based precautions
Contact: C. diff, MRSA, scabies - gown and gloves, dedicated equipment. Droplet: influenza, pertussis, meningitis - mask plus standard precautions, door may stay open. Airborne: tuberculosis, measles, chickenpox - N95 respirator, negative-pressure room with the door closed. Dedicated equipment stays in the room, and the resident may still leave for necessary care with precautions per policy.
Traps
Questions love gloves replacing handwashing (they do not) and alcohol rub against C. diff (use soap and water). Another trap: wearing gloves into the hallway or answering a phone with contaminated gloves.
Rule of thumb
If it's wet and it isn't yours, gloves; and hands are washed the moment the gloves come off.