Types of antiseptics, methods of application

Until the 19th century, most surgical operations resulted in a lethal outcome of the patient from infectious infections. Fortunately, such an achievement of medicine, as antiseptic, reduced the percentage of deaths from septicopyemia to a minimum. Modern surgery successfully uses various types of antiseptics, which we will discuss in this article.

What is antiseptics and why is it needed?

On the relationship of pathogenic microbes with purulent inflammation of the wounds, even ancient healers who unknowingly used natural components with anti-inflammatory properties guessed. Nevertheless, the real fight against surgical infections began in the second half of the XIX century, when the English physician J. Lister published an article in which he described his method of treating an open fracture with a 5% solution of carbolic acid. Since then, a new era in surgery has begun, where with the development of medicine all new types of antiseptic appeared.

Antiseptic in modern terminology means a set of measures and manipulations, the purpose of which is to destroy microorganisms, as well as their spores and toxins in tissues and macroorganisms. Along with this, the term "aseptic" is of great importance in surgery, which means a set of measures to prevent the development of pathogenic microbes in wounds. Aseptic techniques also include the sterilization of surgical instruments and accessories. As well as the discovery of anesthesia and blood groups, the opening of surgery in the XIX century types of aseptic and antiseptic have become one of the fundamental medical achievements of the time. It was from that period that surgeons began to actively practice the previously considered risky( with a 100% lethal outcome) surgery on the chest and abdominal cavity.

The main types of antiseptics in modern medicine

Aseptics, of course, plays a huge role in surgery and often does not require additional measures, however, as practice has shown, a complete rejection of antiseptic manipulation is impossible. Kinds of antiseptics in medicine can be conditionally divided according to the nature of the methods used and the method of application. In the first case, the number of antiseptic species includes:

• Mechanical antiseptics.
• Physical.
• Chemical.
• Biological.
• Mixed.

By the way of application, the chemical and biological types of antiseptics are divided into:

• Local in the form of treatment of a particular part of the body. Local antiseptics can be superficial and deep. Superficial means toilet wounds and damage( washing with solutions, treatment with powders, ointments, compresses), and deep antiseptic is the introduction of chemical and biological anti-infectious agents into the body through injections.
• General, implying infusion saturation of the body through blood and lymph with antiseptic drugs( infusion of droppers).

Mechanical antiseptic

Mechanical antiseptic is performed with the help of surgical instruments and includes:

• Toilet of the injured tissue site: cleansing of the wound from blood clots and pus if available.
• Primary treatment: if necessary, dissection of the edges and bottom of the wound, removal of foreign bodies and non-viable areas of tissue, imposition of surgical sutures.
• Secondary treatment is performed in the event of an infectious inflammation of the injury and includes re-dissection of the wound, drainage, removal of purulent secretion, fibrin and dead tissue.

Physical antiseptic

Physical antiseptic includes a set of measures to prevent the propagation of pathogenic microbes and absorb the products of their vital activity by the tissues of the patient. Physical types of antiseptic wounds include the following:

• Hygroscopic dressing for drawing a secret secretion from the wound, favorable for reproduction of microbes. This group of antiseptics includes: cotton wool, bandage, napkins.
• Hypertonic solutions are used in combination with dressings.
• The draining agents act on the basis of the communicating vessels, the method being the flow washing of the wound.
• Technical means in the form of ultrasound, ultraviolet, X-ray, laser and oxygenation. All these methods have a negative impact on the development of pathogenic microbes with high efficiency.

Chemical antiseptic

Chemical antiseptics include measures for the destruction of pathogens in a patient's wound or organism with the help of chemicals, among which are:

• Disinfection products are used in aseptic for processing surgical instruments, surfaces of floors, walls, etc.
• Chemical antiseptics are usedfor topical application and include various types of skin antiseptics in the form of alkalis, solutions of salts, acids, oxidants, etc. The advantage of such agents isI have a wide range of antibacterial actions, low resistance of pathogens to the drug, as well as the possibility of long-term storage and the absence of significant adverse reactions.
• Chemotherapeutic drugs are used for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes and are represented by antiseptics of synthetic origin. They have an overwhelming effect on microbes, not only in the diseased tissues of the patient, but also in his entire body. Particularly important in cases of spread of the inflammatory process outside the focus of infection. Chemotherapy drugs are valuable in medicine not only because of their wide range of activities( ie, the ability to suppress various types of bacteria), but also their narrow focus.

Biological antiseptic

Biological antiseptics include biological products that are capable of acting both directly on microorganisms, and indirectly. Biological antiseptics include:

• Antibiotics of biological origin are produced by certain bacteria, mold fungi. Different types of antibiotics can both inhibit the growth of bacteria, and contribute to the complete death of microbes.
• Anatoxins of some infectious agents are introduced into the body of healthy people to develop immunity to this bacterium.
• Bacteriophages are viruses( often called bacteria eater) capable of destroying the microorganism from within.
• Nonspecific immunostimulants( interferons, interleukins).

Mixed antiseptic

Combined antiseptics uses methods and means of all kinds of antiseptic in the aggregate. As combined agents are used:

• Inorganic antiseptic. Synthetic analogues of biological agents.
• Synthetically produced organic matter.

Types of antiseptics for wood and other building materials

Different bacteria can cause decay and decomposition processes not only in humans and animals, but also in building materials, such as wood. To protect wooden products in the interior and exterior from damage by insects and house mushrooms, different kinds of wood antiseptics are used in the construction. They can be:

• Inorganic antiseptics have a mineral base and are represented by metal salts effectively destroying all insects on wood products. This group includes solutions of sodium fluoride, ammonium, and also sodium silicofluoride and ammonium silicofluoride.
• Organic antiseptics are poisonous substances most often on an oily basis( creosote, semi-coke, anthracene oil, slate, etc.).
• Combined antiseptics consist of two or more toxic substances. Examples: chlorodon, chlorophos, phenol, carbolenium.