Question

A patient who is psychotic has a formed bowel movement on the floor of his room. How should you clean up this excrement?

1) Use a thick diaper or pad.
2) Wear gloves and use some paper towels or toilet paper.
3) Wear gloves, use toilet paper, and wash the area with a 1 ___________.10 bleach solution.
4) Wear a gown, shoe covers, mask, and chemotherapy-impervious gloves, and wash the area with an ammonia with bleach 1 ___________.1 solution.

Answer 1

The correct method to clean up excrement involves wearing gloves, using toilet paper to remove the waste and disinfecting the area with a 1:10 bleach solution, per infection control protocols concerning biohazardous materials.

Step-by-step explanation:

To clean up excrement safely and effectively, wear gloves, use toilet paper to pick up the solid waste, and then disinfect the area. Specifically, one should use a 1:10 bleach solution to sanitize the affected area, ensuring that all relevant pathogens are killed. This procedure aligns with infection control protocols that emphasize the importance of barrier precautions and the use of appropriate disinfectants when handling biohazardous materials.

Moreover, when managing spills of potentially infectious material, such as biological specimens, standardized cleaning procedures must be followed to prevent the spread of pathogens. This includes wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and face protection and ensuring thorough cleaning with an effective disinfectant like a diluted bleach solution.