© 2012 Milady, a part of Cengage Learning

Milady Standard Cosmetology

Infection Control:

Principles and Practices

RegulationFederal Agencies

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) – Regulate and enforce

safety and health standards to protect employees in the workplace.

• Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

– Useful disposal guidelines, medical, and first aid information.

– Manufacturer information on product safety.

RegulationFederal Agencies

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)– Registers all

disinfectants sold and used in U.S.

– Disinfectants: Products that destroy all bacteria (but not spores), fungi, and viruses on non-porous surfaces.

– Hospital disinfectants: Effective for decontaminating non-porous surfaces exposed to blood and body fluids.

– Tuberculocidal disinfectants: Proven to kill the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.

RegulationState Regulatory Agencies

• Exist to protect salon professionals and to protect consumers’ health, safety, and welfare while they receive salon services.

• Require everyone working in a salon or spa to follow specific procedures.

• Enforcement through inspections and investigations of consumer complaints is part of an agency’s responsibility.

RegulationLaws and Rules—What Is the Difference?

• Laws– Written by both federal

and state legislatures that determine the scope of practice.

– Also called statutes.

• Rules and regulations– More specific than

laws.– Written by the

regulatory agency or the state board, and they determine how the law must be applied.

Principles of Infection

• Infection: Invasion of body tissues by disease-causing pathogens.

• Prevention begins and ends with you.

Principles of InfectionInfection Control

• Infection control: Methods used to eliminate or reduce the transmission of infectious organisms.

• Infectious disease: Caused by pathogenic (harmful) organisms that enter the body.

• Disinfection destroys most, but not necessarily all, harmful organisms on environmental surfaces.– Not effective against

bacterial spores.

Principles of InfectionBacteria

• Bacteria: One-celled microorganisms that have both plant and animal characteristics.– Nonpathogenic:

Harmless microorganisms.

– Pathogenic: Harmful microorganisms.

Principles of InfectionViruses

• Virus: Parasitic submicroscopic particle that infects and resides in the cells of a biological organism.– Can live and

reproduce only by taking over other cells and becoming part of them.

• Human papilloma virus (HPV): Example of a common viral infection often seen in salons; also known as plantar warts.

Principles of InfectionBloodborne Pathogens

• Bloodborne pathogens: Disease-causing microorganisms that are carried in the body by blood or body fluids, such as hepatitis and HIV.

• Hepatitis: Bloodborne virus that causes disease and can damage the liver.

• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): Virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Principles of InfectionFungi

• Fungi: Microscopic plant parasites that include molds, mildews, and yeasts.

• Tinea barbae: Fungal infection that affects the skin (barber’s itch).

• Tinea pedis: Ringworm fungus of the foot.

Principles of InfectionParasites

• Parasites: Organisms that grow, feed, and shelter on or in another organism (referred to as a host), while contributing nothing to the survival of that organism.

Principles of InfectionImmunity

• Immunity: Ability of the body to destroy and resist infection.

• Natural immunity: Partly inherited and partly developed through healthy living.

• Acquired immunity: Immunity the body develops after overcoming a disease, through inoculation, or through exposure to natural allergens, such as pollen, cat dander, and ragweed.

Principles of Prevention

• Decontamination: Removal of blood or other potentially infectious materials on an item’s surface and the removal of visible debris or residue such as dust, hair, and skin.

• Most salons are only concerned with Decontamination Method 1.

Principles of PreventionDecontamination

• Decontamination Method 1: Cleaning and then disinfecting with an appropriate EPA-registered disinfectant.

• Decontamination Method 2: Cleaning and then sterilizing.– Sterilization: Process

that completely destroys all microbial life, including spores.

Principles of PreventionChoosing a Disinfectant

• Disinfectants must have efficacy claims on the label.

• Efficacy: Ability to produce an effect.

• Ideal disinfectant:– Maintain efficacy in

presence of bioburden– Requires changing after

a longer length of time

– Inexpensive– Nontoxic, nonirritating– Readily available– EPA approved– Environmentally friendly– Have no odor– Noncorrosive

Principles of PreventionProper Use of Disinfectants

• Disinfectant tips:– Use only on

precleaned, hard, nonporous surfaces.

– Wear gloves and safety glasses.

– Follow complete immersion guidelines.

– Dilute and change products according to instructions.

Principles of PreventionTypes of Disinfectants

• For salon use:– Quaternary

ammonium compounds: Known as quats, usually disinfects implements in ten minutes.

– Phenolic disinfectants: Powerful tuberculocidal disinfectants.

– Bleach: Household bleach, 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite, is an effective disinfectant and has been used extensively as a disinfectant in the salon.

Principles of PreventionDisinfectant Safety

• Keep an MSDS on hand.• Wear gloves and safety

glasses.• Avoid skin and eye

contact.• Add disinfectant to water

when diluting.• Keep out of reach of

children.• Follow manufacturer’s

instructions.

Principles of PreventionDisinfectant Safety

• Never let quats, phenols, bleach, or any other disinfectant come in contact with your skin.

• Never place any disinfectant or other product in an unmarked container.

Principles of PreventionDisinfect or Dispose?

• Multiuse: Also known as reusable items; can be cleaned, disinfected, and used on more than one person even if the item is accidentally exposed to blood or body fluid.

• Single-use: Also known as disposable items; cannot be used more than once.– Examples: wooden

sticks, cotton balls, sponges, gauze, tissues, paper towels, and some nail files and buffers.

Principles of PreventionDisinfecting Electrical Tools and Equipment

• Hair clippers, electrotherapy tools, nail drills, and other electrical equipment have contact points that cannot be immersed in liquid.

• Clean and disinfect using an EPA-registered disinfectant designed for use on these devices.

Principles of PreventionDisinfecting Nonelectrical Tools and Implements

• State rules require all multiuse tools and implements to be cleaned and disinfected before and after every service—even when used on the same person.

Principles of PreventionDisinfecting Work Surfaces

• Before beginning every client service, all work surfaces must be cleaned and disinfected.

• Clean and disinfect tables, styling stations, shampoo sinks, chairs, arm rests and any other surface a customer’s skin may have touched.

Principles of PreventionCleaning Towels, Linens, and Capes

• Clean towels, linens, and capes must be used for each client.

• Launder according to the directions on the item’s label.

• Be sure that towels, linens, and capes are thoroughly dried.

• Store soiled linens and towels in covered or closed containers, away from clean linens and towels.

• Use disposable neck strips or towels.

Principles of PreventionDisinfecting Foot Spas and Pedicure Equipment

• Equipment that contains water for pedicures must be cleaned and disinfected after every pedicure, and the information must be entered into a logbook.

• Some state regulatory agencies allow single-use tub liners in pedicure equipment.

• Check with your state agency.

Principles of PreventionSoaps and Detergents

• Chelating soaps: Also known as chelating detergents; work to break down stubborn films and remove the residue of pedicure products such as scrubs, salts, and masks.

• Hard tap water reduces effectiveness of cleaners and disinfectants.

• If your area has hard water, ask your distributor for pedicure soaps that are effective in hard water.

Principles of PreventionAdditives, Powders, and Tablets/Dispensary

• Additives, powders, and tablets cannot be used instead of EPA-registered liquid disinfectant solutions.

• Remember: There are no shortcuts!

• Keep the dispensary clean and orderly, with the contents of all containers clearly marked.

• Keep product MSDSs in a convenient, central location for the employees.

Principles of PreventionHandling Single-Use Supplies/Hand Washing

• Throw all single-use items after one use.

• Anything exposed to blood must be double-bagged and marked with a biohazard sticker, separated from other waste, and disposed of according to OSHA standards.

• Wash hands thoroughly before and after each service.

• Minimize use of antimicrobial and antibacterial soaps.

Principles of PreventionWaterless Hand Sanitizers

• Antiseptics: Chemical germicides formulated for use on skin and are registered and regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

• Antiseptics can contain either alcohol or benzalkonium chloride, which is less drying to the skin than alcohol.

• Use hand sanitizers only after properly cleaning your hands.

Universal Precautions

• Universal Precautions: Guidelines published by OSHA requiring employer and employee to assume that all human blood and body fluids are infectious for bloodborne pathogens.

• Bloodborne pathogens are more difficult to kill than germs that live outside the body.

• Clients may be asymptomatic, showing no symptoms or signs of infection.

Universal PrecautionsAn Exposure Incident: Contact with Blood or

Body Fluid

• Exposure incident: Contact with nonintact (broken) skin, blood, body fluid, or other potentially infectious materials that is the result of the performance of an employee’s duties.

Universal PrecautionsAn Exposure Incident

1. Stop the service.

2. Put on gloves.

3. Stop the bleeding.

4. Clean the injured area.

5. Bandage the cut.

6. Clean and disinfect the work station.

7. Discard single-use contaminated objects by double bagging.

8. Make sure multiuse items are cleaned/disinfected before removing gloves.

9. Remove gloves and seal them in the double bag with other contaminated items for disposal.

10. Recommend the client see a physician if redness, swelling, pain, or irritation develop.

Professional Salon Image

• Keep floors and workstations dust-free.

• Control dust, hair, and other debris.

• Keep trash in a covered waste receptacle.

• Clean fans, ventilation systems, and humidifiers at least once each week.

• Keep all work areas well-lit.

• Clean and disinfect restroom surfaces.

• Do not use the salon for cooking or living purposes.

• Never place food in refrigerator used to store salon products.

• Prohibit eating, drinking, and smoking where services are performed or product mixing occurs.

Professional Salon Image

• Never place implements in mouth or pockets.

• Properly clean and disinfect all multiuse tools before reusing.

• Clean and disinfect all work surfaces after every client.

• Properly wash hands before and after each service.

• Professional responsibilities:– Follow state and federal

laws and rules.– Keep your license current

and notify the licensing agency if you move or change your name.

– Check your state’s Web site weekly for any changes or updates to rules and regulations.