Infection Control and Safety Standards
The chain of infection
Every infection-control question on this exam traces back to one idea: a pathogen needs a reservoir, a way out, a way to travel, a way in, and a susceptible host. Your job is to break one link - usually the mode of transmission - through handwashing, barriers, and disinfecting tools between clients. Know the four pathogen families: bacteria (cocci, bacilli, spirilla), viruses, fungi, and parasites. Know that bacteria exist in two stages, the active vegetative stage and the spore stage, and that only sterilization destroys spores.
Three levels, three verbs
Cleaning removes visible soil with soap and water. Disinfection destroys most pathogens on surfaces but not spores. Sterilization destroys all microbial life, including spores, and is achieved with an autoclave. A question that says a product “kills all bacteria and spores” is describing sterilization, not the disinfectant you use between clients.
Universal precautions and PPE
Treat every client's blood and body fluids as infectious. Wear gloves when contact with blood, broken skin, or body fluids is likely; wash hands for at least 20 seconds before and after every service; use chemical-resistant gloves for disinfection tasks and wash hands after removing them. Hand sanitizer is not a substitute for soap when hands are visibly soiled.
Traps to watch
- Assuming a client who “looks healthy” is not infectious.
- Believing a strong smell means a disinfectant is working - smell proves nothing; label contact time does.
- Using tools straight from a drawer without checking that they were disinfected after the last client.
- Forgetting that a porous item contaminated with blood must be discarded, not wiped.
Rule of thumb
If an item touches skin or body fluid and cannot be cleaned and disinfected, it is single-use. Worked example: you nick a client's cuticle and the emery board touches blood - the board goes in the trash, not back in the drawer.