What is the core rationale of universal precautions?

• A. They are optional during routine care.
• B. They apply only to known infectious patients.
• C. They assume all patients may be infectious and reduce risk of transmission to patients and staff.
• D. They focus on sterilizing equipment.

Answer: (C)

Universal precautions rely on treating every patient’s blood and specific body fluids as potentially infectious, and then consistently applying protective measures to prevent transmission. Because infections like HIV and hepatitis B or C can be present without obvious signs, you can’t rely on appearance or assumed status. So you use protective barriers, such as gloves, gowns, masks or eye protection as needed, perform thorough hand hygiene before and after each patient contact, practice safe injection methods, dispose of sharps safely, and keep the environment clean and properly disinfected. The aim is to reduce the risk of spreading infections to both patients and staff across all routine care, not just when a patient is known to be infected, and it involves more than simply sterilizing equipment.