OSHA Standard Precautions

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration has basic OSHA standard precautions that are meant to keep employees and consumers safe. You may know the standard precautions by another name -- universal precautions or bloodborne pathogen precautions. OSHA recently changed the name but the standards put forth are the same.

Standard precautions refer to safeguards taken that help to keep employees and consumers protected and healthy when there may be the potential to come into contact with blood or other body fluids. They are extremely important in the health care field to prevent the spread of infection, but what some people don’t realize is that all workplaces need to be aware of and prepared for using standard precautions if it becomes necessary.

You are far more likely to come into contact with body fluid if you’re a nurse or a hospital patient, but there is still a chance that an employee or consumer in an office, store or any other workplace setting could cut themselves or vomit. Each workplace should be trained on how to use standard precautions.

OSHA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone should use standard precautions whenever you come into contact with body fluids. Here are some instances where you should use them:

• If you do happen to work in a health care setting you will likely use them all day, everyday.
• If you see an accident and you stop to provide first aid.
• If there is an accident in your workplace and you want to help.
• If your next door neighbor’s three year old son falls down and cuts himself and you help him clean his wound and bandage him up.
• If you are helping a complete stranger.
• If you are helping your best friend.

The point is; if there is an accident and there are body fluids involved there is always the potential for the spread of disease. You cannot know who may have a disease by just looking at them. You can’t tell from the job they have or how much money they make. You can’t tell by their gender, race or age if someone has a transferable disease.

In nursing school there is a typical saying that is pounded into your brain: If it’s wet, and it’s not yours, don’t touch it.

That may seem like common sense and in fact, it should be. But many people during an emergency don’t take the time to stop and think about the precautions they need to take. That’s why early OSHA training requirement training is so important. OSHA standard precautions should be reviewed each year without fail at the workplace – but more often is better.

Bodily fluids include:

• Blood
• Urine
• Vomit
• Saliva
• Feces
• Anything wet!

Diseases that can be passed by bodily fluids don’t discriminate based on amount. Just because there’s not a torrent of blood doesn’t mean that it’s safe. A scrape or small cut it still wet.

The first and most important term you should know is Personal Protective Equipment or PPE. This is meant to create a barrier between you and fluid contact. A barrier may be latex or non-latex gloves – although it’s actually best to always carry non-latex gloves because some people are deadly allergic to latex. You don’t want to try and help someone and end up giving them a deadly allergic reaction.

Other barriers required in the workplace by OSHA may include medical protective clothing such as eye protection, gowns or aprons, and CPR barrier devices. This barrier device is a face mask or face shield that protects you if you need to give first aid. They vary in size and scope. Some CPR barriers are disposable thin sheets of plastic-like material, and others are bigger and sturdier and thus reusable. You would simply sanitize the barrier after use. You can easily find protective clothing online or at a local medical supply store.

This is tough because obviously a nurse will need far different rules than an individual working at a music store. Here are some basics from across the employment fields:

• When switching patients or victims, change gloves and other protective devices.
• Always wash your hands if possible before helping someone and always after.
• Dispose of needles and any other fluid-touched items in the proper containers. For instance, needles always go in a designated sharps container and other items such as blood-stained clothing should go in separate bins as well.
• If a needle or another breakable item (such as a drinking glass) that’s contaminated falls to the floor and breaks use a broom and dustpan to pick it up not your hands, not even with gloves.
• Besides basic hand washing, the CDC is currently recommending that healthcare professionals use alcohol-based hand sanitizer as well after patient contact.
• When in the workplace; if you do come into contact with bodily fluid a report is necessary and usually an investigation. Always report any fluid contact to your supervisor so that you can get the health care support you need.

The scope of OSHA standard precautions is so large that it’s hard to cover in a short amount of space. Also, regulations are updated frequently. If you’re interested in learning more visit:

• OSHA’s page for bloodborne precautions: this page has an excellent glossary of precaution terms.

• The CDC’s hand-washing precaution page.

All the precautions and rules may seem overwhelming; but just remember: If it’s wet, and it’s not yours, don’t touch it. Simple. You can still help others and stay safe and protected.

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