Which precaution should be taken

Log in Sign Up. Save Word. Definition of precaution. Synonyms for precaution Synonyms caution , fail-safe , palladium , preventive , safeguard Visit the Thesaurus for More. Examples of precaution in a Sentence Be sure to follow the usual safety precautions when cooking outdoors. When driving, she always wears her seatbelt as a precaution. Every home owner should take precautions against fire. She took the precaution of packing extra medicine for the trip.

Recent Examples on the Web On several occasions, Knight was forced to use vacation days to care for her daughter after the daycare closed temporarily due to an exposure or asked her daughter to stay home as a precaution. First Known Use of precaution , in the meaning defined at sense 1. Make sure shared spaces in the home have good air flow. You can open a window or turn on an air filter or air conditioner. Do not allow visitors into your home.

This includes children and adults. All household members should wash their hands well and often. Wash the sick person's clothing, bedding, and towels with detergent on the hottest temperature possible. Wear gloves when handling their laundry, if possible. Wash your hands well after handling the laundry even if you wore gloves.

Every day, use a household cleaner or wipe to clean things that get touched a lot. These include doorknobs, light switches, toys, remote controls, sink handles, counters, and phones. Safe injection practices are a set of measures DHCP should follow to perform injections in the safest possible manner for the protection of patients.

DHCP most frequently handle parenteral medications when administering local anesthesia, during which needles and cartridges containing local anesthetics are used for one patient only and the dental cartridge syringe is cleaned and heat sterilized between patients. Other safe practices described here primarily apply to use of parenteral medications combined with fluid infusion systems, such as for patients undergoing conscious sedation.

Unsafe practices that have led to patient harm include 1 use of a single syringe — with or without the same needle — to administer medication to multiple patients, 2 reinsertion of a used syringe — with or without the same needle — into a medication vial or solution container e. However, because of reports of transmission of infectious diseases by inappropriate handling of injectable medications, CDC now considers safe injection practices to be a formal element of Standard Precautions.

Complete guidance on safe injection practices can be found in the Guideline for Isolation Precautions pdf icon [PDF — 1. Additional materials, including a list of frequently asked questions from providers and a patient notification toolkit , are also available. If multidose vials will be used for more than one patient, they should be restricted to a centralized medication area and should not enter the immediate patient treatment area e.

If a multidose vial enters the immediate patient treatment area, it should be dedicated for single-patient use and discarded immediately after use. Date multidose vials when first opened and discard within 28 days, unless the manufacturer specifies a shorter or longer date for that opened vial.

Ensure that the dental cartridge syringe is appropriately cleaned and heat sterilized before use on another patient. Instrument processing requires multiple steps using specialized equipment. Each dental practice should have policies and procedures in place for containing, transporting, and handling instruments and equipment that may be contaminated with blood or body fluids.

Most single-use devices are labeled by the manufacturer for only a single use and do not have reprocessing instructions. Use single-use devices for one patient only and dispose of appropriately. Cleaning, disinfection and sterilization of dental equipment should be assigned to DHCP with training in the required reprocessing steps to ensure reprocessing results in a device that can be safely used for patient care.

Training should also include the appropriate use of PPE necessary for safe handling of contaminated equipment. Patient-care items e. Note: Dental handpieces and associated attachments, including low-speed motors and reusable prophylaxis angles, should always be heat sterilized between patients and not high-level or surface disinfected. Although these devices are considered semicritical, studies have shown that their internal surfaces can become contaminated with patient materials during use.

If these devices are not properly cleaned and heat sterilized, the next patient may be exposed to potentially infectious materials. Digital radiography sensors are also considered semicritical and should be protected with a Food and Drug Administration FDA -cleared barrier to reduce contamination during use, followed by cleaning and heat-sterilization or high-level disinfection between patients.

If the item cannot tolerate these procedures then, at a minimum, protect with an FDA-cleared barrier. In addition, clean and disinfect with an Environmental Protection Agency EPA -registered hospital disinfectant with intermediate-level i. Because these items vary by manufacturer and their ability to be sterilized or high-level disinfected also vary, refer to manufacturer instructions for reprocessing. Cleaning to remove debris and organic contamination from instruments should always occur before disinfection or sterilization.

If blood, saliva, and other contamination are not removed, these materials can shield microorganisms and potentially compromise the disinfection or sterilization process.

Automated cleaning equipment e. After cleaning, dried instruments should be inspected, wrapped, packaged, or placed into container systems before heat sterilization. Packages should be labeled to show the sterilizer used, the cycle or load number, the date of sterilization, and, if applicable, the expiration date.

The ability of a sterilizer to reach conditions necessary to achieve sterilization should be monitored using a combination of biological, mechanical, and chemical indicators. Biological indicators, or spore tests, are the most accepted method for monitoring the sterilization process because they assess the sterilization process directly by killing known highly resistant microorganisms e.

A spore test should be used at least weekly to monitor sterilizers. However, because spore tests are only performed periodically e. Mechanical and chemical indicators do not guarantee sterilization; however, they help detect procedural errors and equipment malfunctions. Mechanical monitoring involves checking the sterilizer gauges, computer displays, or printouts; and documenting the sterilization pressure, temperature, and exposure time in your sterilization records.

Since these parameters can be observed during the sterilization cycle, this might be the first indication of a problem. Chemical monitoring uses sensitive chemicals that change color when exposed to high temperatures or combinations of time and temperature. Examples include chemical indicator tapes, strips or tabs, and special markings on packaging materials. Chemical monitoring results are obtained immediately following the sterilization cycle and therefore can provide more timely information about the sterilization cycle than a spore test.

A chemical indicator should be used inside every package to verify that the sterilizing agent e. If the internal chemical indicator is not visible from the outside of the package, an external indicator should also be used. External indicators can be inspected immediately when removing packages from the sterilizer. If the appropriate color change did not occur, do not use the instruments.

Chemical indicators also help to differentiate between processed and unprocessed items, eliminating the possibility of using instruments that have not been sterilized.

Note: A single-parameter internal chemical indicator provides information regarding only one sterilization parameter e. Sterilization monitoring e. Maintaining accurate records ensures cycle parameters have been met and establishes accountability.

For Patients Clean your hands frequently. Limit visitors to a few family members and friends. For Visitors Clean hands upon entering and exiting your room. Avoid contact with dressings, tubes, bed sheets and other items the patient may touch. Do not go into the rooms of other patients. Go to the nurse's station, if you have questions. Droplet Precautions Droplet precautions are used when you have or may have germs in your lungs or throat, such as those caused by the flu, that can spread by droplets from your mouth or nose when you speak, sneeze or cough as well as when people touch the surfaces around you.

When these precautions are in place, the staff will: Clean hands frequently Put a sign on your door to let staff know what to do. Wear a mask and eye protection.

Place masks outside your door for use by hospital staff and visitors. Be sure visitors entering your room have read the sign on your door. Brothers and sisters of pediatric patients on droplet precautions are discouraged from visiting and may not visit communal areas such as the playroom.

Wear a mask and eye protection before entering the room and while visiting. Handwashing Standards When cleaning hands with soap and water: Wet hands with warm water.