Biohazardous Medical Waste Disposal Guidelines: How to Protect Yourself From Bloodborne Pathogens

Biohazardous medical waste disposal takes an important place in the health care industry. This is because medical waste often contains various infectious materials, including bloodborne pathogens.

Here are some of the things you need to keep an eye on in order to protect yourself from bloodborne pathogens and make biohazard medical waste disposal more effective.

  1. Always wear personal protective equipment.

Wearing personal protective equipment or PPE is mandatory when handling medical waste, regardless of its amount. The PPE typically includes gloves, a mask, goggles, boots and a lab coat, but if you are handling more hazardous waste, it can also include a full suit, covering you from head to toe.

Once you have safely handled medical waste, you should dispose of the gloves immediately and send the other things for cleaning in an autoclave. It is also important not to forget to wash your hands thoroughly after this with soap and warm running water.

  1. Make sure your PPE is not torn anywhere

If your gloves or any part of PPE is torn or cut anywhere it will not be as effective in protecting you against harmful pathogens. This is why you need to ensure that it’s not before you wear it.

  1. Never collect sharps with bare hands

Medical sharps include used needles, scalpel blades, syringes, broken glass, and other materials capable of piercing or cutting through your skin. In addition to having the potential of injuring a person, sharps often contain blood and can also infect you if you are not careful when handling them.

Because of this, you should never try to collect medical sharps with your bare hands. Use a broom and a dust pan to dispose of these in a safe manner.

  1. Cover any cuts before handling medical waste

If you have any cuts or scratches, make sure to cover that part of your skin with extra bandages. Do this even if you are going to wear PPE over it. It never fails to be extra careful when it comes to biohazard medical waste disposal.

  1. Assume its infected

This is a good rule of thumb to live by if you work with biohazard medical waste disposal. If you do get in contact with blood, don’t risk it and assume it is infectious. Immediately wash the area that came in contact with the blood with antibacterial soap and water.

  1. Clean contaminated areas

Always clean any contaminated areas thoroughly. Dispose of broken sharps using a broom and a bucket and use appropriate disinfectants on any surfaces, including the floor, door knobs, and shelves and so on. This will reduce the risk of infection to your employees.

This is very important as certain bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis B can survive for weeks in dried blood.

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