Splashes, or mucocutaneous pathogen exposures, occur during workers' daily activities like emptying suction cups, spraying bedpans or changing fecal tubes of catheters. These activities can send patients' bodily fluid accidently into workers' eyes or open cuts, according to an article on the Becker's Hospital Review website.
A 2003 study showed 43 percent of physicians, 39 percent of registered nurses, 27 percent of licensed practical nurses and 25 percent of medical techs experienced at least one mucocutaneous blood exposure in the previous three months, the article said.
Tips to get splash exposures under control include:
• Provide improved personal protective equipment. Splash exposures usually happen when bodily fluids get in healthcare workers' eyes, so some hospitals opt to provide masks with clear plastic shields.
• Get rid of the hopper. A common source of splashes is rinsing bedpans, which, in most U.S. hospitals, happens in a hopper. Get a bedpan washer instead.
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