Hygiene practices, personal

A4.3.8.3.1 Consistent with good occupational hygiene practices, personal protective equipment (PPE)... 

Control measures such as engineering controls, work practices, hygienic practices or personal protective equipment required ... 

The spread of HAV can be best controlled by avoiding exposure. The most important measures to avoid exposure include good hand-washing techniques and good personal hygiene practices. 

Other protective measures Avoid inhalation and contact with skin and eyes. Good personal hygiene practices should be used. Wash after any contact, before breaks and meals, and at the end of the work period. 

Personal Hygiene Practices. All personnel should wear disposable or other type gloves resistant to research materials (3) and wash their hands immediately after removing gloves following the completion of any procedure in which chemical carcinogens are used. A hand washing facility should be made available within the laboratory. 

Exposure to glass fibers sometimes causes irritation of the skin and, less frequently, irritation of the eyes, nose, or throat. This is not an allergic reaction, but simply a mechanical irritation. Skin irritation typically is experienced by individuals who are newly exposed to fibrous glass and it usually diminishes after several days of exposure. Good personal and industrial hygiene practices minimize the amount of discomfort experienced. 

Skin protection If prolonged or repeated skin contact is likely, neoprene gloves should be worn. Good personal hygiene practices should always be followed. 

Acute viral diarrheal illness often occurs in day care centers and nursing homes. As person-to-person contact is the mechanism by which viral disease spreads, isolation techniques must be initiated. For bacterial, parasite, and protozoal infections, strict food handling, sanitation, water, and other environmental hygiene practices can prevent transmission. If diarrhea is secondary to another illness, controlling the primary condition is necessary. Antibiotics and bismuth subsalicylate are advocated to prevent traveler s diarrhea, in conjunction with treatment of drinking water and caution with consumption of fresh vegetables. 

HAV causes both epidemics and sporadic infections. Both are related to overcrowded conditions and person-to-person spread or ingestion of contaminated food or water. HAV is transmitted by the fecal-oral route. The incidence of HAV correlates directly with poor sanitary conditions and hygienic practices." For international travelers, longer lengths of stay in a country with a high rate of hepatitis A also correlates with increased risk. In the United States, groups at increased risk of HAV, in addition to travelers, include men who have sex... 

Ig should be given to previously unvaccinated people who have had (a) close personal contact with a person who has hepatitis A (b) all staff and attendees of day care centers when hepatitis A is documented (c) common-source exposures (other food handlers at locations where a food handler has hepatitis A patrons, if the infected food handler handled food and had diarrhea or poor hygienic practices) (d) classroom contacts of an index case patient and (e) schools, hospitals, and work settings at which close contact occnrs with index patients. ... 

---