Mitigating Health and Safety Hazards of Chemotherapy Drugs
Chemotherapy drugs are administered by healthcare professionals in hopes of helping patients fight cancer cells. These drugs are powerful, so anyone handling or spending time around them must have the right personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize exposure-related health concerns.
Different forms of chemotherapy medications exist to help patients improve their conditions. The following information explains which PPE to use and how your team can take the correct precautions when working with traditional chemotherapy drugs.
What Are the Health and Safety Hazards of Chemotherapy Drugs?
Healthcare staff members must be trained in the safe handling of chemotherapy drugs to ensure their safety. Cancer care professionals follow strict regulations, as these medications are intended only for ill patients.
Oral medication, which is a popular form of chemotherapy, can be hazardous to healthcare workers. The capsules contain potent chemicals unsafe for the skin. Also, once a patient takes the chemotherapy drugs, healthcare workers must be careful around the patient’s bodily fluids.
Risks associated with handling chemotherapy medications without gloves include:
- Skin rashes or irritation.
- Eye or mucous membrane irritation.
- Hair loss.
- Nausea and vomiting.
Using gloves for chemotherapy drugs is critical to prevent these exposure effects.
Chemotherapy Drug Safety Precautions
It is essential to avoid exposure to chemotherapy drugs when you are not suffering from cancer. Nurses and doctors must wear chemotherapy gloves, clothing, masks and eyewear adhering to specific standards for adequate protection. Nitrile materials are frequently used for chemotherapy gloves because of their outstanding resistance to the chemicals used to create these drugs.
Consider enforcing these additional chemotherapy drug safety precautions to further protect your healthcare staff:
- Ensure you have disposable plastic buckets available for patients in case of nausea.
- Encourage patients to flush the toilet twice after using the restroom while on chemotherapy drugs.
- Always use sealing bags intended for chemotherapy PPE disposal to discard gloves and related supplies.
- Make sure healthcare workers clean up a cancer patient’s body fluid spills immediately.
- Clearly label yellow chemotherapy PPE disposal bags and containers to ensure they are discarded correctly.
Choose SUNLINE Supply’s Nitrile Gloves for Cancer Patients and Healthcare Staff
SUNLINE Supply is your source for the highest-rated PPE products. We are a company that provides supplies meeting chemotherapy glove standards in bulk. You can feel confident about your safety around chemotherapy drugs when you start shopping with SUNLINE Supply. Contact us today!
