As epidemics and infectious diseases enter our lives more and more, the importance of ways to protect against these diseases increases. After the coronavirus pandemic, which has become the most important health problem of today, with the implementation of mask - distance - hygiene rules, discussions have arisen about which substances and products should be used, especially in terms of hygiene. In this direction, it has become important to have accurate and sufficient information about the disinfectant substances used for the hygiene of our body and environment.
What is a Disinfectant?
In medical practice, the process of making a certain environment or surface clean from microorganisms is called disinfection. However, since microorganisms can be found in different forms and the regions where this process is applied vary, different forms of disinfection have been defined. disinfection to destroy the pathogens of microorganisms on inanimate surfaces and environments; The purification of body surfaces from microorganisms is called antisepsis. In this regard, although disinfection is widely used in daily use; As a term, it is more correct to call the hygiene practices applied to the body as antisepsis.
If an example is needed; sterilization is the process of cleaning the equipment to be used in the surgery at high temperatures in special ovens before a surgical procedure; disinfection to ensure hygiene in and around the surgeon's operating table; Cleaning the area where the surgical procedure will be performed on the patient is called antisepsis. Since the level of hygiene obtained and the surface applied in each procedure are different, the method of application of each procedure and the chemicals used also differ.
In other words, a substance used in disinfection may not be suitable for antisepsis. Generally, in antisepsis, products that are compatible with biological environments and less hygienic are used in order not to adversely affect body surfaces. Due to today's widespread use, products used in antisepsis, especially for the hand area, can be called hand or skin disinfectants.
What Does a Disinfectant Do?
Disinfectant Thanks to the chemical components they contain, these substances enable the microorganisms to be destroyed by causing damage to the cell membrane and cell wall or by damaging their genetic materials. In addition, there are disinfectants with different mechanisms such as inhibiting the growth of microorganisms, deterioration of their structural components or adversely affecting cell physiology. Accordingly, various types of bacteria can pass into their special forms called spores, preventing the entry of disinfectant substances into the cell, strengthening their cell walls and slowing their metabolism, thus preserving their existence for a long time. When bacteria in spore form reach a suitable environment for them to live (for example, the human body), they can return to their old forms and cause disease. Sterilization methods are used to destroy spore-form bacteria.
Again, some microorganisms may be naturally resistant to disinfection methods. In this regard, the use of products with stronger biochemical strength comes to the fore in the removal of special microorganisms resistant to some chemicals. For all these reasons, it is not possible to completely purify the disinfected area from all microorganisms. The main purpose of disinfection is to remove harmful and common microorganisms from the environment. Commonly used disinfection methods are generally sufficient for bacteria and viruses that cause the most disease in humans today. Especially since enveloped viruses such as coronavirus cannot survive for a long time in outdoor conditions, they are vulnerable to basic disinfection products and it is possible to remove them from the environment. It can be widely used during applications. In this regard, disinfectants or antiseptics can be used in the following applications:
Hand washing: Especially healthcare professionals use hand disinfectants for hand cleaning in the hospital environment. Today, with the easy accessibility of hand disinfectants, their use has become widespread in the workplace or at home.
Mucosas� Front cleaning: Antiseptics are used to clean these areas in interventional procedures on mucous areas such as urethra, vagina and ear in healthcare applications.
Treatment of skin infections: Antiseptic substances are used for the purpose of protection as a result of deterioration of skin integrity or for the elimination of some infectious diseases. It can be used. In this regard, the following substances can be applied to body surfaces as antiseptics:
Alcohol: Ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol is one of the most widely used antiseptics, especially in the form of 70% or 80% solution. Hand disinfectants used in the hospital environment contain alcohol.
Iodophor: Iodophor solutions, also known as polyvidone iodine, are the most commonly used antiseptic in wound care and dressings.
Parachlor Meta Xylenol: It is used as an antiseptic in hand washing products.
Triclosan: It is found especially in toothpastes and soaps to provide antiseptic properties. Also, it is used as a disinfectant for cleaning inanimate surfaces:
Gluteraldehyde: Aldehyde-containing disinfectants are especially used in the disinfection of medical equipment used in hospitals.
Chlorides: It can be used for cleaning surfaces and some instruments.
Hydrogen Peroxide: The most widely used product for disinfection is hydrogen peroxide, also known as bleach. Especially cleaning of inanimate surfaces, surgical implants and contact lenses
Phenols: It is included in the contents of some soaps used for surface cleaning.
Quaternary ammonium compounds: It is used in the disinfection of foods and surfaces.
What are the Benefits of Disinfectant?
Disinfectants and antiseptics are basically used to clean body parts and inanimate surfaces from microorganisms and to prevent the growth of new microorganisms. In this respect, the use of disinfectants provides important benefits in the following areas:
- Antiseptics have a critical importance in preventing the transmission of infectious agents from one patient to another in hospital applications.
- Surgical and interventional procedures are used to prevent the microorganisms in the external environment from being transmitted to the body. Disinfection and antisepsis are used to prevent it.
- Infectious diseases are one of the most common health problems today. Since infectious diseases are mainly transmitted by respiratory and oral routes, hand hygiene is vital in preventing both transmission routes. For this reason, providing hand cleaning in ideal conditions depends on the correct use of antiseptics. In this regard, the use of antiseptic agents in wound cleaning and dressings is beneficial.
What are the Side Effects of Disinfectants?
Since disinfectants used especially for surface cleaning have chemically strong effects. may cause some harmful biological effects. In this regard, it is necessary to be careful when using disinfectants. Disinfectants may cause the following side effects, depending on the body areas they are exposed to:
- Skin rashes due to irritation, redness, swelling, itching
- Contact dermatitis
- Skin burns
- Allergic reactions
- Secondary infections due to deterioration of skin integrity
- Eye injuries
- Animal bites
- Extensive or deep injuries
- Serious burns
- Injuries involving foreign matter
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