Which statement best describes universal precautions?

Which statement best describes universal precautions?

• A. Always ignoring potential exposure
• B. Only using gloves with known infections
• C. Treat all blood and bodily fluids as potentially infected
• D. Wash hands after patient contact

Answer: (C)

Universal precautions are infection-control practices designed to protect you by assuming that any blood or bodily fluids could be infectious. The best statement reflects this approach: always treat all blood and bodily fluids as potentially infected, and use the appropriate protective measures (gloves and other PPE, eye/face protection when needed), along with proper hand hygiene and safe handling of sharps and contaminated surfaces. This mindset matters because infections can be present even when a patient seems healthy, and not all risks are obvious or known. Other options don’t fit as well because ignoring potential exposure is unsafe, using gloves only with known infections misses the possibility of undetected pathogens, and while washing hands after patient contact is essential, it doesn’t fully capture the preventive mindset of treating all fluids as potentially infectious and consistently applying protective measures.

Universal precautions are infection-control practices designed to protect you by assuming that any blood or bodily fluids could be infectious. The best statement reflects this approach: always treat all blood and bodily fluids as potentially infected, and use the appropriate protective measures (gloves and other PPE, eye/face protection when needed), along with proper hand hygiene and safe handling of sharps and contaminated surfaces. This mindset matters because infections can be present even when a patient seems healthy, and not all risks are obvious or known.

Other options don’t fit as well because ignoring potential exposure is unsafe, using gloves only with known infections misses the possibility of undetected pathogens, and while washing hands after patient contact is essential, it doesn’t fully capture the preventive mindset of treating all fluids as potentially infectious and consistently applying protective measures.