Until the 19th century, most surgical operations ended in the death of the patient from infections introduced by he althcare workers. Fortunately, such an achievement in medicine as antiseptics has 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 an antiseptic and what is it for?
The relationship of pathogenic microbes with purulent inflammation of wounds was suspected by ancient healers who unconsciously used natural components with anti-inflammatory properties. Nevertheless, the real fight against surgical infections began in the second half of the 19th 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, more and more new types of antiseptics have appeared.
Antiseptics in modern terminology means a set of measures and manipulations aimed atwhich is the destruction of microorganisms, as well as their spores and toxins in tissues and macroorganisms. Along with this, the term "asepsis" is of great importance in surgery, which means a set of measures to prevent the development of pathogenic microbes in wounds. Asepsis techniques also include the sterilization of surgical instruments and supplies. As well as the discovery of anesthesia and blood groups, the types of asepsis and antisepsis that opened up to surgery in the 19th century became one of the fundamental medical achievements of that time. It was from that period that surgeons began to more actively practice the previously considered risky (almost 100% fatal) operations on the chest and abdominal cavity.
The main types of antiseptics in modern medicine
Asepsis, of course, is of great importance in surgery and often does not require additional measures, however, as practice has shown, a complete rejection of antiseptic manipulations is impossible. Types 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 types of antiseptics include:
- Mechanical antiseptic.
- Physical.
- Chemical.
- Biological.
- Mixed.
According to the method of application, chemical and biological types of antiseptics are divided into:
- Local in the form of treatment of some particular part of the body. Local antiseptics can be superficial and deep. Superficial means the toilet of wounds and injuries (washing with solutions, treatment with powders,ointments, compresses), and deep antisepsis is the introduction of chemical and biological anti-infective drugs into the body by injection.
- General, implying infusion saturation of the body through the blood and lymph with antiseptic drugs (infusion of droppers).
Mechanical antiseptic
Mechanical antiseptic is performed using surgical instruments and includes:
- Toilet of the injured tissue area: cleansing the wound of blood clots and pus, if present.
- Primary treatment: if necessary, dissection of the edges and bottom of the wound, removal of foreign bodies and non-viable tissue areas, surgical sutures.
- Secondary treatment is carried out when an infectious inflammation of the injury occurs and includes re-dissection of the wound, drainage, removal of purulent secretion, fibrin and dead tissue.
Physical antiseptic
Physical antiseptics include a set of measures to prevent the reproduction of pathogenic microbes and the absorption of their waste products by the patient's tissues. Physical wound antiseptics include the following:
- A hygroscopic dressing to draw out a secret from a wound that is favorable for the reproduction of microbes. This group of antiseptics includes: cotton wool, bandage, napkins.
- Hypertonic solutions are used in combination with dressings.
- Draining agents act on the basis of communicating vessels, the method consists in flowwashing the wound.
- Technical means in the form of ultrasound, ultraviolet, X-ray, laser and oxygenation. All these methods have a negative effect on the development of pathogenic microbes with high efficiency.
Chemical antiseptics
Chemical antiseptics include measures to destroy pathogenic microbes in a wound or the patient's body using chemicals, among which are:
- Disinfectants are used in asepsis for the treatment of surgical instruments, surfaces of floors, walls, etc.
- Chemical antiseptics are used for topical application and include various types of skin antiseptics in the form of alkalis, solutions of s alts, acids, oxidizing agents, etc. The advantage of such agents is a wide range of antibacterial action, 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 affected tissues of the patient, but throughout his body. Especially significant 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 spectrum of action (i.e., the ability to suppress various types of bacteria), but also because of their narrow focus.
Biological antiseptics
Biological antiseptics include agents of biological origin that can act both directly on microorganisms and indirectly. Biological antiseptics include:
- Antibiotics of biological origin are produced by certain bacteria, fungi. Different types of antibiotics can either inhibit the growth of bacteria or contribute to the complete death of microbes.
- Anatoxins of some infectious pathogens are injected into the body of he althy people to develop immunity to this bacterium.
- Bacteriophages are viruses (often referred to as bacteria eaters) that can destroy a microorganism from the inside.
- Non-specific immunostimulants (interferons, interleukins).
Mixed antiseptic
Combined antiseptic uses methods and means of all types of antiseptics in the aggregate. As a combined means are used:
- Inorganic antiseptics.
- Synthetic analogues of biological agents.
- Synthetically produced organics.
Types of antiseptics for wood and other building materials
Various bacteria can cause rotting and decomposition processes not only in human and animal bodies, but also in building materials such as wood. To protect wooden products in the interior and exterior from insect damageand house mushrooms, different types of wood antiseptics are used in construction. They can be:
- Inorganic antiseptics have a mineral base and are represented by metal s alts that effectively destroy all insects on a wood product. This group includes solutions of sodium fluoride, ammonium, as well as sodium fluoride and ammonium fluoride.
- Organic antiseptics are poisonous substances, most often oil-based (creosote, semi-coke, anthracene oil, shale, etc.).
- Combined antiseptics consist of two or more toxic substances. Examples: Chlorodon, Chlorophos, Phenol, Carbolenium.
