HIV Standard Precautions

The United States has regulations for the health and safety of all public workers who deal directly with cases of HIV and AIDS. The government first enforced standard (or universal) precautions in 1983, not long after the western world discovered HIV and AIDS. Since then, there have been updates. The essential regulations mainly concern those bodily fluids that carry and transmit the HIV virus.

Protective Clothing

• Health care workers should wear gloves, eye wear, face coverings and aprons or gowns whenever there is a chance of direct contact with blood, semen or vaginal fluids. Such situations include invasive procedures where there is a chance of splatter, and contact with open wounds or broken skin.

Hygiene

• Health care workers must wash all their visible skin surfaces thoroughly after contact with bodily fluids. This includes hands, after removing the gloves.

Sharp Instruments

• Health care workers must take particular care when using sharp instruments such as needles and scalpels. Preventing injury to themselves and patients reduces the risk of HIV transmission through blood. Needles should be disposed of in appropriate containers that cannot break, puncture or leak.

Workers with Infections

• Health care workers who have open sores or weeping skin should not have direct contact with patients.

Resuscitation

• Ventilation devices should be available in any situation where resuscitation is likely. The guidelines; however, acknowledge that saliva does not directly carry HIV.

Field-Specific Procedures

• In invasive surgical procedures, instruments and equipment should be routinely sterilized. Surgeons must replace barriers such as gloves and masks immediately, if they are broken or damaged. Other professions with specific industry-related precautions include dentistry and morticians.