What are some isolation precautions you may be wondering about? Isolation precautions are “infection control practices aimed at reducing or eliminating the transmission of pathogens” (Foundations Of Nursing). Some of these precautions include gowns, gloves and masks. Isolation precautions emerged to protect other patients and yourself from patients with deadly and contagious diseases such as tuberculosis. “Fear of contagious diseases...dates at least to biblical times when people with leprosy or plague were generally segregated from the rest of society” (Nursing Standard). The most common way of spreading microorganisms is physical contact with someone, for example by shaking their hand effortlessly As with any patient, it is essential to change gloves between each intervention. As a nurse, your uniform is most contaminated by micro-. organisms, often from the environment. When dealing with patients, hand hygiene is the most important priority. Standard precautions reduce the risk of spreading microorganisms from environmental sources. recognized and unrecognized infections in hospitals. "The use of standard precautions assumes that each person is potentially infected or colonized with an organism that could be transmitted in a health care setting. As the name suggests, standard precautions require the health care worker to consistently follow the basic principles of infection control. , such as hand hygiene" (British Journal of Nursing). The most important things to consider are hand washing, putting on gloves, putting on masks and putting on gowns. During patient care, there is no such thing as reusable equipment, each patient needs new equipment when assisted The environment the patient is in...... middle of paper. .. were germs being transmitted? Hand hygiene itself has had a major impact on infection prevention and patient health. Improvements in hand hygiene have led to a reduction in gastrointestinal illness. 31% and respiratory illnesses by 21% (American Journal of Public Health) It is very important to know that you should wash your hands before entering and leaving the patient's room. similarities and differences. Airborne, droplet and contact infections, shared hand washing and patient transport should be limited, and the patient should be kept in an isolated room. the difference is that at Airborne you must wear a NIOSH approved N-95 mask. When transporting a patient, you are not required to wear a mask regarding droplet precautions. And for contact precautions, you should also wear gloves and gowns..