Standard Precautions apply to:

Standard Precautions are a set of practices designed to prevent the transmission of infections in healthcare settings. They are applied to all patients, regardless of their known infection status. This approach recognizes that the precise infection status of individuals may not always be clear and promotes a universal safeguard against the spread of infectious agents.

By applying Standard Precautions to all patients whenever care is provided, healthcare workers ensure that they are consistently protecting themselves, other patients, and the environment from potential contamination. This includes practices such as hand hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment (like gloves and masks), and safe handling of sharp objects and waste.

This comprehensive approach is vital in maintaining safety in healthcare environments and is essential for effective infection control. It fosters a culture of safety and vigilance, ensuring that no patient is inadvertently put at risk of infection transmission. Other options, which suggest limiting these precautions to specific categories of patients, do not adequately address the need for universal precautions in healthcare settings.