What should I do before putting on personal protective gear to give care?

Before putting on personal protective equipment such as disposable gloves, cover any of your own cuts, scrapes or sores with a bandage to prevent disease transmission when giving care.

First and foremost, wash your hands. This will ensure that your hands are clean before you put on any PPE. Not all care requires gloves, gowns, protective eyewear, or masks. A good rule of thumb is: "if it is wet and not yours don't touch it." This helps with blood, urine or other obvious body fluids. 

Sometimes we can be exposed to splashes, fine mists, or droplets in the air. Then a mask, respirator, or goggles would be helpful. Masks can be put on the patient and the caregiver to reduce the number of particles in the air.

The order we "put on" and "take off" our PPE matters. For more information on this, copy this video link into your web browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxdaSeq4EVU&list=UU-g0YPrNz_XHGNOvi6POoCA&index=18&feature=plcp