Isolation Precautions to Prevent the Spread of Illness An isolation precaution helps prevent the spread of infections by creating a barrier between people and germs. In a hospital environment, germs and microorganisms reside everywhere, whether they are on doorknobs, computers, or even the floor. Each patient room should be cleaned and sanitized, with all old linens or instruments disposed of. New equipment should be used for each patient to safeguard any possible transmission of infections. To ensure prevention of the spread of infections, standard precautions should be taken. It is mandatory to follow standard precautions because everyone is assumed to be potentially affected and unless precautions are taken, the infection will spread. In order for both the patient and the medical staff to be safe, it is important to use standard precautions. Standard precautions include; hand hygiene, gloves, mask, eye protection, face shield, gown and other miscellaneous guidelines. Hand hygiene plays the vital role in practicing standard precautions and preventing infections. “Employers must ensure that employees wash their hands and any other skin with soap and water or irrigate mucous membranes with water as soon as possible after contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials.” (OSHA). It is essential to wash your hands before entering the patient's room, after touching body fluids, blood, feces, urine and contaminated objects, while wearing gloves. While gloves are very reliable, they are not guaranteed to prevent healthcare worker infection. So, once you have removed your gloves, it is essential to wash your hands properly. To prevent cross-contamination, it may be wise… half the paper… to make sure the infected area is covered. Finally, use disposable equipment when dealing with patients with contact precautions. While airborne, droplet, and contact transmission differ in many ways, they also share common precautions. First, and most importantly, hand hygiene is used in all precautions. Hand hygiene is extremely crucial. Secondly, it is extremely important that visitors present themselves to the nurse before entering any room with a precaution sign. Some patients have special needs, so consulting with the nurse is the safest route for both patient and visitors. It is important to advise everyone of the precautions to take when dealing with patients in isolated rooms. The only way to prevent disease transmission is to have good hand hygiene, wear gloves, gowns and masks when appropriate, and advise visitors to follow the same rules.