What should I know when employed as emergency personnel?
Emergency personnel are in contact with infectious diseases in a variety of circumstances. They have contact with individuals for whom no medical information is available.
Report immediately suspect fluid exposure, or a needlestick or sharp injury to a designated person or health care professional.
Please also see the OSH Answers documents HIV/AIDS in the Workplace and Needlestick and Sharps Injuries for more information.
- requirement Consider blood and body fluids from all patients as potentially infective.
- requirement Take proper precautions to prevent exposure to blood and body fluids.
What personal protection should I wear?
Wear gloves:
NOTE: Emergency personnel do not routinely require gowns, masks and protective eye wear. This equipment should, however, be available for certain medical emergencies such as controlling bleeding.
WASH hands as soon as possible:
Be careful in situations such as body searches and removing people from automobile wrecks where the chance for broken glass, needles, or sharp edges is possible.
- requirement when you have open or healing wounds, or skin infections
- requirement when in direct contact with blood or body fluids, secretions or excretions and surfaces and objects exposed to them
- requirement with waterless antiseptic hand cleaner when hand washing facilities are not available. Follow manufacturer's recommendations
- requirement after direct contact with a potentially infected person
- ppe after removing gloves
- requirement if hands become contaminated with blood or body fluids