STANDARD PRECAUTIONS: To be used for the care of all patients.
	* This includes: 
--The use of hand hygiene, using hand gel before and after contact with a patient or use of soap and H2O if visibly soiled
--The use of mask to protect from care likely to generate splashes or sprays of blood, body fluids, secretions and excretions
--The use of gowns to protect skin and prevent soiling of sprays of blood, body fluids, secretions or excretions or cause of soiling of clothing

CONTACT PRECAUTIONS: To be used for the care of patients known or suspected to be infected or colonized with "epidemiologically important" microorganisms that can be transmitted by direct or indirect contact with the patient
 
--Direct contact-microorganisms are transferred from an infected person to an uninfected person without a contaminated intermediate object or person.

--Indirect contact-the transmission of an infectious agent through a contaminated intermediate object or person (such as hands, equipment, toys, clothing, instruments)

Care of Patient on Contact Precautions:
--Gloves upon entering the room
--Gown if you anticpate that your clothing will have substantial contact with the patient, environmental surfaces or itens in the patient's room or if the pt is incontinent, has diarrhea, an ileo- or colostomy or wound drainage not contained by a dressing

AIRBORNE PRECAUTIONS: To be used for patients known to be infected with microorganisms transmitted by airborne droplet nuclei that remain suspended in the air and can be dispersed by air currnets with a room or over a long distance.
  
Care of the patient on airborne precautions:
--pt needs to be in a negative pressure room and the doors need to remain closed
--the pt needs to remain in the room
--resp protection must be worn  (a PAPR mask  for TB or N95 mask)
--pt's suspected to have TB, chicken pox and shingles that are open and weeping and measles require negative pressure rooms

DROPLET PRECAUTIONS:  TO BE USED FOR PATIENTS INFECTED WITH MICROORGANISMS TRANSMITTED BY LARGE PARTICLE DROPLETS GENERATED BY COUGHING, SNEEZING, TALKING.

care of the patient on droplet precautions:
-- caregivers must wear yellow filtration masks in addition to gown and gloves when within 3 feet of the patient (if the patient is forcefully coughing or sneezing with a velocity behind the droplets, a mask is recommended within 6 feet of the patient)
--pts are reminded to contain their coughs and sneezes and keep detritus contained
--pt must travel with a yellow filtration mask

NEUTROPENIC PRECAUTIONS: TO BE USED FOR PATIENTS WHOSE WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNT (NEUTROPHIL) COUNT IS SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW NORMAL LIMITS AND THEREFORE ARE AT GREAT RISK FOR SYSTEMIC INFECTION.

care of the patient on neutropenic precautions:
--members of the health care team who are ill should not enter the patient's room
--caregivers should wear gown, gloves and yellow filtration masks to protect the patient from possible infection
--the pt should be on a "neutropenic" diet with no fresh fruit, no raw vegetables, no flowers and no water or ice from the tap.  
--rectal temps should not be obtained
--the pt needs to be reminded to perform meticulous hygiene  if able, with close inspection of skin, oral mucosa
--monitor closely for early signs of infection