Personal protection in preventing and

controlling infections at health care

setting
Intro
• PPE- PPEs are barriers that help prevent the spread of microorganisms
from person-to-person (patients, clients or health care provider) and
equipment, instruments and environmental surfaces to people.
• PPEs include: caps, eyewear, masks, aprons, gowns, gloves, scrub suits,
drapes and boots or closed shoes. Etc
• Health care workers must wear PPEs whenever they are at risk of contact
with contaminated materials or blood and body fluids.
• Managers must ensure adequate PPEs are available for the staff.
Note: Remember--caps, masks or drapes made from paper should never be
reused.
Types of PPE and their uses
• Gloves
• Eyewear
• Masks
• Respirators
• Scrub Suits
• Surgical gowns
• Aprons
• Footwear
• Drapes
Cont..
• Gloves
• Gloves are the most important physical barriers for preventing the spread
of infection.
• They:
• are worn when there is a chance of contact with mucous membranes,
blood, body fluids, secretions or excretions during patient/client contact
• are worn when handling contaminated wastes or cleaning or disinfecting
instruments, equipment and surfaces
• protect hands from infectious materials
• protect patients from microorganisms on staff members’ hands
Cont..
• Tips for effective glove use
• Wear gloves that are of correct size.
• Use water soluble hand lotions and moisturizers often to prevent hands from drying and cracking.
Avoid oil-based hand lotions or creams because they damage surgical and examination gloves and
can contribute to the development of latex allergy.
• Keep fingernails short (less than 3 mm beyond the fingertip). Long nails may provide a breeding
ground for bacteria, yeast, and other disease-causing microorganisms. Long fingernails are also
more likely to puncture gloves.
• Store gloves in a place where they are protected from extreme temperatures, which can damage
gloves.
• Use a separate pair of gloves for each client.
• Remove gloves before moving to another patient or after completion of a specific task.
• Properly dispose used gloves and wash hands with soap and water.
NB: Gloves should not be worn during routine procedures such as bed making, unless items or
surfaces are contaminated.
Types of gloves and their use
Type of gloves Use
Disposable examination gloves Medical examinations and procedures such as pelvic
gynaecological examinations or drawing blood
Sterile gloves Surgical or invasive procedures, pelvic obstetric
examinations
Clean heavy duty household utility gloves Cleaning instruments, equipment and contaminated
surfaces; housekeeping; laundry; mortuary tasks; and
handling or disposing of contaminated waste
CONT…
• Even the best quality, new latex rubber surgical gloves may leak up to
4% of the time (Davis 2001a). Latex gloves—especially when exposed
to fat in wounds—gradually become weaker and lose their integrity.
• Double Gloving
Decreases the risk of blood-hand contact
Note: Double gloving does not prevent blood exposure if needle sticks
or other injuries occur
When to double glove
• If the procedure involves coming in contact with large amounts of
blood or other body fluids (e.g., vaginal deliveries and caesarean
sections).
• For short surgical procedures (30 minutes or less) that involve
minimal exposure to blood or mucous secretions (e.g., laparoscopy or
minilaparotomy), double gloving is not necessary.
• Consider whether to double glove or not depending on the situation.
• Use gauntlet gloves or modified surgical gloves if protection of
forearms is needed
DOs and DON’Ts about Gloves
DOs DON’Ts
• Select the appropriate glove • Use oil-based hand lotions or creams
• Wear the correct size glove • Use hand lotions and moisturizers that are very
• Change surgical gloves periodically during long fragrant (perfumed)
cases • Store gloves in areas where there are extremes in
• Keep fingernails trimmed moderately short temperature
• Pull gloves up over cuffs of gown
• Use water-soluble (non fat-containing) hand lotions
and moisturizers to prevent hands from drying,
cracking and chapping
Eyewear
• Eyewear protect staff from splashes of blood and other body fluids by
covering the eyes. They include clear plastic goggles, safety glasses,
face shields and visors. Glasses with plain lenses are also acceptable if
they have side shields attached.
oMasks and eyewear should be worn whenever there is a risk of
splashes into the face e.g., when performing caesarean section or
vaginal delivery or when cleaning instruments) and when patients are
on droplet precautions.
Masks
• Are worn to protect others by containing moisture droplets expelled
by health care providers through nose and mouth during procedures.
• Protect health care workers by preventing splashes from entering
their noses or mouths.
• Qualities of masks:
– Should be large enough to cover the nose, lower face, jaw and all
facial hair (to contain it).
– The most effective masks are fluid-resistant
Respirators
• Particulate respirators are specialized types of masks, such as N-95,
which are recommended for situations in which filtering inhaled air is
considered important (e.g., for the care of a person on airborne
precautions).
Scrub Suits
• A scrub suit consists of drawstring pants and a shirt worn during
procedures to protect health care workers from splashes. They are
worn over or instead of street clothes. The V-neck shirt must fit well
enough so that it doesn’t slide off the wearer’s shoulders or expose
the chest. The main use of cover gowns is to protect the health care
providers clothing
Surgical gowns
These are outer sterile garments worn during surgery by scrubbed staff.
Sleeves should be long and cuffed; the gown should be tied in the back and
should be long enough to reach boots.
• Surgical gowns made of fluid-resistant materials help keep blood and other
body fluids off the skin of personnel, particularly in operating, delivery and
emergency rooms.
• Cloth gowns should be heavy enough to provide an effective barrier.
• Jeans material (denim) or canvas is too dense to autoclave, is difficult to
wash and takes too long to dry.
• The health care provider should wear a plastic or rubber apron underneath
the gown to prevent contact of the skin with blood and body fluids.
• If a large spill occurs, the best thing to do is shower or bathe as soon as
possible after completing the procedure.
Aprons
Aprons are macintoshes or plastic coverings used to protect clothing
or skin from contamination.
• Aprons made of rubber or plastic provide a waterproof barrier along
the front of the health care provider body, and
• Should also be worn during procedures where the likelihood of
splashes or spillage of blood, body fluids, secretions or excretions is
likely (e.g., when conducting deliveries).
Footwear
Footwear is protective, rigid or semi-rigid coverings for the feet.
• It is worn to protect feet from injury by sharp or heavy items or fluids
that may accidentally fall or trip on them.
• Rubber boots or closed shoes or leather shoes are acceptable and
must be kept clean and free of contamination from blood or other
body fluid spills.
• Sandals, “thongs” or shoes made of soft materials (cloth) are not
acceptable.
Drapes
Drapes are cloths placed around a prepared surgical incision and used to
create a work area.
• Although this area is often called the “sterile field,” it is NOT sterile because
cloth drapes allow moisture to soak through and can help to spread
infection from skin.
• Neither sterile gloved hands nor sterile or high-level disinfected
instruments and other items should touch drapes once they are in place
because cloth drapes allow moisture to soak through and can help to
spread organisms into the incision.
Note: Using towel drapes to create a work area around the incision limits the
amount of skin that needs to be cleaned and reminds the surgical team not
to touch the patient.
STEPS TO DON MEDICAL GLOVES

• Perform hand hygiene for at least 20 seconds with alcohol hand rub or
soap and water. Ensure hands are completely dry before donning gloves.
• Touch only a restricted surface of the glove (at the top edge of the cuff)
and create an opening.
• Insert five fingers into the opening and gently pull the cuff over the wrist.
• Take the second glove with the bare hand and touch only a restricted glove
surface corresponding to the wrist.
• Pull glove cuff towards wrist to cover as much skin as possible and secure
glove.
STEPS TO DOFF MEDICAL GLOVES

• Grasp the outer edge of the glove near the wrist with the opposite gloved
hand. Ensure skin of forearm does not touch the outer glove surface.
• Peel the glove away, turning it inside out.
• Hold the glove in the other gloved hand
• Remove the second glove by inserting two ungloved fingers under the
glove cuff and peel off the glove.
• Remove gloves by rolling it down the hand and turning it into a bag
containing both gloves. Discard gloves safely according to your facility’s
requirements.
• Perform hand hygiene for at least 20 seconds with alcohol hand rub or
washing with soap and water.
Sumarry
• Medical gloves are recommended to be worn for two main
reasons(importance)
1. To reduce the risk of contamination of health-care workers hands
with blood and other body fluids.
2. To reduce the risk of germ dissemination to the environment and of
transmission from the health-care worker to the patient and vice
versa, as well as from one patient to another.

AAlfani