Standard precautions were developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect against the transmission of infection. CDC officials recommend that health care workers assume that all patients are potentially infected or colonized (carry the organism but not showing signs or symptoms of infection) with an organism that could be transmitted in the health care setting, regardless of their diagnosis.

One part of standard precautions includes wearing gloves for situations involving known or anticipated contact with blood, body fluids, tissue, mucous membrane, and nonintact skin.¹ If the task or procedure being performed may result in splashing or splattering of blood or body fluids to the face, a mask and goggles or face shield should be worn. If the task or procedure being performed may result in splashing or splattering of blood or body fluids to the body, a fluid-resistant gown or apron should be worn.¹,² Additional protective clothing such as shoe covers may be appropriate to protect the feet in situations that may expose the health care worker to large amounts of blood or body fluids (or both), such as when caring for a trauma patient in the operating room or emergency department.

Standard precautions should be combined with transmission-based precautions for patients with confirmed or suspected infection with highly transmissible pathogens. (See Transmission-based, precautions, page 670 as well as “Airborne precautions,” page 10; “Contact precautions,” page 196; and “Droplet precautions,” page 233.)