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An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/ skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''
antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...
s'' by the latter's ability to safely destroy bacteria within the body, and from ''
disinfectant A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than st ...
s'', which destroy microorganisms found on non-living objects. Antibacterials include antiseptics that have the proven ability to act against bacteria. Microbicides which destroy virus particles are called viricides or antivirals.
Antifungal An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as crypto ...
s, also known as
antimycotic An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as crypto ...
s, are pharmaceutical
fungicide Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. A fungistatic inhibits their growth. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality, ...
s used to treat and prevent mycosis (fungal infection).


Surgery

The widespread introduction of antiseptic surgical methods was initiated by the publishing of the paper ''
Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery "Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery" is a paper regarding antiseptics written by Joseph Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 182710 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist ...
'' in 1867 by Joseph Lister, which was inspired by
Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...
's germ theory of putrefaction. In this paper, Lister advocated the use of carbolic acid ( phenol) as a method of ensuring that any germs present were killed. Some of this work was anticipated by: * Ancient Greek
physicians A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
Galen (''circa'' 130–200) and Hippocrates (''circa'' 400 BC) and
Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian clay tablets dating from 2150 BC that advocate the use of similar techniques. * Medieval surgeons Hugh of Lucca, Theoderic of Servia, and his pupil Henri de Mondeville were opponents of Galen's opinion that
pus Pus is an exudate, typically white-yellow, yellow, or yellow-brown, formed at the site of inflammation during bacterial or fungal infection. An accumulation of pus in an enclosed tissue space is known as an abscess, whereas a visible collection ...
was important to healing, which had led ancient and medieval surgeons to let pus remain in wounds. They advocated draining and cleaning the wound edges with wine, dressing the wound after suturing, if necessary and leaving the dressing on for ten days, soaking it in warm wine all the while, before changing it. Their theories were bitterly opposed by Galenist Guy de Chauliac and others trained in the classical tradition. * Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., who published ''The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever'' in 1843 * Florence Nightingale, who contributed substantially to the report of the Royal Commission on the Health of the Army (1856–1857), based on her earlier work * Ignaz Semmelweis, who published his work ''The Cause, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever'' in 1861, summarizing experiments and observations since 1847


Some common antiseptics

Antiseptics can be subdivided into about eight classes of materials. These classes can be subdivided according to their mechanism of action: small molecules that indiscriminately react with organic compounds and kill microorganisms (peroxides, iodine, phenols) and more complex molecules that disrupt the cell walls of the bacteria. * Phenols such as phenol itself (as introduced by Lister) and triclosan, hexachlorophene, chlorocresol, and chloroxylenol. The latter is used for skin disinfection and cleaning surgical instruments. It is also used within a number of household disinfectants and wound cleaners. *
Diguanide Biguanide () is the organic compound with the formula HN(C(NH)NH2)2. It is a colorless solid that dissolves in water to give highly basic solution. These solutions slowly hydrolyse to ammonia and urea. Synthesis Biguanide can be obtained from ...
s including chlorhexidine gluconate, a bacteriocidal antiseptic which (with an alcoholic solvent) is the most safe & effective antiseptic for reducing the risk of infection after clean surgery, including tourniquet-controlled upper limb surgery. It is also used in mouthwashes to treat inflammation of the gums ( gingivitis).
Polyhexanide Polyhexanide (polyhexamethylene biguanide, PHMB) is a polymer used as a disinfectant and antiseptic. In dermatological use, it is spelled polihexanide (INN) and sold under the names Lavasept, Serasept, Prontosan, and Omnicide. PHMB has been shown ...
(polyhexamethylene biguanide, PHMB) is an antimicrobial compound suitable for clinical use in critically colonized or infected acute and chronic wounds. The physicochemical action on the bacterial envelope prevents or impedes the development of resistant bacterial strains. * Quinolines such as hydroxyquinolone, dequalium chloride, or
chlorquinaldol Chlorquinaldol is an antimicrobial agent and antiseptic. It is a chlorinated derivative of the popular chelating agent 8-hydroxyquinoline. It is applied topically as a cream and internally as a losenge. It was marketed by Geigy as an intestinal ...
. *
Alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...
s, including ethanol and 2-propanol/
isopropanol Isopropyl alcohol (IUPAC name propan-2-ol and also called isopropanol or 2-propanol) is a colorless, flammable organic compound with a pungent alcoholic odor. As an isopropyl group linked to a hydroxyl group (chemical formula ) it is the simple ...
are sometimes referred to as ''
surgical spirit Rubbing alcohol is either an isopropyl alcohol or an ethanol-based liquid, with isopropyl alcohol products being the most widely available. The comparable ''British Pharmacopoeia'' (''BP'') is surgical spirit. Rubbing alcohol is denatured and un ...
''. They are used to disinfect the skin before injections, among other uses. * Peroxides, such as hydrogen peroxide and
benzoyl peroxide Benzoyl peroxide is a chemical compound (specifically, an organic peroxide) with structural formula , often abbreviated as (BzO)2. In terms of its structure, the molecule can be described as two benzoyl (, Bz) groups connected by a peroxide () ...
. Commonly, 3% solutions of hydrogen peroxide have been used in household first aid for scrapes, etc. However, the strong oxidization causes scar formation and increases healing time during fetal development. *
Iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...
, especially in the form of povidone-iodine, is widely used because it is well tolerated; does not negatively affect wound healing; leaves a deposit of active iodine, thereby creating the so-called "remnant", or persistent effect; and has wide scope of antimicrobial activity. The traditional iodine antiseptic is an
alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...
solution (called tincture of iodine) or as
Lugol's iodine Lugol's iodine, also known as aqueous iodine and strong iodine solution, is a solution of potassium iodide with iodine in water. It is a medication and disinfectant used for a number of purposes. Taken by mouth it is used to treat thyrotoxicosi ...
solution. Some studies do not recommend disinfecting minor wounds with iodine because of concern that it may induce scar tissue formation and increase healing time. However, concentrations of 1% iodine or less have not been shown to increase healing time and are not otherwise distinguishable from treatment with saline. Iodine will kill all principal pathogens and, given enough time, even
spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...
s, which are considered to be the most difficult form of microorganisms to be inactivated by disinfectants and antiseptics. *
Octenidine dihydrochloride Octenidine dihydrochloride is a cationic surfactant, with a gemini-surfactant structure, derived from pyridine. It is active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Since 1987, it has been used primarily in Europe as an antiseptic prio ...
, currently increasingly used in continental Europe, often as a chlorhexidine substitute. *
Quat salt In chemistry, quaternary ammonium cations, also known as quats, are positively charged polyatomic ions of the structure , R being an alkyl group or an aryl group. Unlike the ammonium ion () and the primary, secondary, or tertiary ammonium catio ...
s such as benzalkonium chloride/
Lidocaine Lidocaine, also known as lignocaine and sold under the brand name Xylocaine among others, is a local anesthetic of the amino amide type. It is also used to treat ventricular tachycardia. When used for local anaesthesia or in nerve blocks, lidoca ...
(trade name Bactine among others), cetylpyridinium chloride, or cetrimide. These surfactants disrupt cell walls.


See also

*
Actinonin Actinonin is a naturally occurring antibacterial agent that has demonstrated anti-tumor activity. Actiononin has been shown to inhibit the enzyme peptide deformylase, which is essential in prokaryote A prokaryote () is a single-celled organism t ...
*
Henry Jacques Garrigues Henry Jacques Garrigues (June 6, 1831July 7, 1913) was a Danish-born American doctor considered to have introduced antiseptic obstetrics to the United States. Early life and education Henri Jacques Garrigues was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to the ...
, introduced antiseptic obstetrics to North America *
NASLA {{Unreferenced, date=May 2022 The NASLA (Nanostructured Anti-septical Coatings) Project involves four small and medium enterprises (SMEs) having one common technological problem: the need of antiseptic functionality for their products. The project, ...
(Nanostructured Anti-septical Coatings) Project


References


External links

* {{Concepts in infectious disease Bactericides