Most medical facilities use ultraviolet irradiation to disinfect air, surfaces, water and medical instruments. It affects the environment and leads to the death of many harmful microorganisms.
What is an irradiator
The principle of operation of devices designed for air disinfection is the same. Each germicidal irradiator produces ultraviolet light, the wavelength of which is about 253.7 nanometers. The power of such devices, as a rule, is not great. It ranges from 8 to 60 watts. In most cases, these are low pressure mercury lamps.
Bactericidal ultraviolet irradiators consist of a housing that can be attached to a ceiling or wall, a ballast, a power cable, a switch. The lamp is also included in the kit. It looks like a tube-cylinder and is made of special glass. Electrodes made of tungsten wire are soldered into its ends. The disinfecting effect is achieved due to radiation, whichoccurs due to a glow discharge in mercury vapor under low pressure.
There are also xenon flash lamps. They also disinfect the room, while it is not contaminated with mercury vapor. Moreover, disinfection with their help takes less time, because they create pulses of powerful radiation. But they have one big drawback, because of which only mercury lamps are widely used. Their work requires high-voltage, expensive, complex equipment.
Varieties
There are several types of irradiators. In medical, cosmetology centers, offices, stationary devices are often used. They can be mounted on the ceiling or wall, their body has special grooves for fixing. Any such bactericidal irradiator is quite simple. The right choice of installation site allows you to make the processing of the premises as efficient as possible.
Mobile lamps are attached to a special stand. It can be equipped with wheels for ease of movement. Such options are well suited for large rooms. Lamps on poles that can be moved can be single- or multi-directional, circular or narrow, and can be equipped with reflectors.
In addition, recirculators can be found on sale (they are also called closed-type irradiators). They are designed for long-term work in rooms in which there are people and animals. And here is an open-type bactericidal UV irradiatorcan only be turned on where there are no living beings. After his work, it is desirable to ventilate the room.
In addition, there are ozone-free and ozone irradiators. In devices of the first type, a special material is used for the manufacture of the lamp bulb, which does not transmit waves shorter than 200 nm. Ozone lamps emit spectral lines shorter than 200 nm. This creates ozone in the air.
Features of recirculators
For rooms where there are a large number of people, including children, it is advisable to install closed-type irradiators. Due to the fact that during their work there is no need to remove people and animals from the premises, they can work almost constantly. Such devices can be turned on in schools in the classroom, in kindergartens, in offices throughout the day. They are quiet enough to be used even at night.
The principle of operation of recirculators is based on the fact that inside their case there is a quartz lamp. The bactericidal irradiator is designed in such a way that its body completely shields ultraviolet radiation. Air disinfection is achieved due to the fact that it enters and exits the device through ventilation openings specially equipped for this purpose. The purification process itself takes place directly in the irradiator.
Rules for using open lamps
In many medical institutions, not recirculators, but open-type devices are installed. With their help, a fairly wide area around is disinfected. At the same time, not only the air is cleaned, but also all surfaces locatedin room. But at the same time, one must always remember that a bactericidal irradiator has a detrimental effect on all living organisms. It can affect the skin, mucous membranes. Before turning on the quartz lamp, all living things must be removed from the room, including aquariums with fish and plants.
Given that in many medical institutions such lamps are installed right in the wards, it is important to tell each incoming patient about the rules for their use. It is necessary to explain what being in a room with the irradiator on can lead to. Junior medical personnel should carry out quartzization indoors.
How to choose
There are several basic nuances that you need to know about when you choose a bactericidal irradiator. The lamp must be of a certain power, which corresponds to the area of \u200b\u200bthe room. The larger the treated area, the stronger the device should be.
The type of irradiator is also important. Ceiling structures are considered the most optimal. But for wall options there are limitations: they cannot be placed on surfaces made of natural wood or pasted over with wallpaper. These coatings may blacken when exposed to ultraviolet light.
If you want to disinfect several rooms at the same time, then a mobile irradiator will be the best option. Some manufacturers provide such lamps with a special platform, which is designed to facilitate the movement of the device from room to room.
Special attention should begive documentation. You can only buy a medical device that has an instruction manual, all permits, including a certificate.
Irradiator OBN-150
Russian manufacturers are able to produce quartz lamps, the efficiency of bactericidal action of which reaches 99.9%. A striking example is the bactericidal irradiator OBN-150.
This quartz lamp can be installed not only in medical institutions, including hospitals, but also in bacteriological laboratories, industrial enterprises, blood transfusion stations, canteens, cinemas, gyms and other crowded places.
With the help of OBN-150 you can disinfect the air, household items, water intended for drinking. All this can prevent infection with bacteria and viruses. For a 150m room3 it takes 35 minutes for the lamp to be fully disinfected.
The included DB-30M quartz lamps are made of uvio glass. It quietly transmits radiation at a level of 253.7 nm, but delays shorter waves, the length of which does not reach 200 nm. This can prevent the formation of ozone in the air during operation of the machine.
The service life of the lamps included in the bactericidal irradiator OBN-150 is 8 thousand hours. The rated power of the device is 60 W, it is capable of delivering a bactericidal flow of about 22.4 W. At the same time, its service life is 5 years.
For those who are planning a purchase, it is important to know that the weight of the device is 2.32 kg, its length is 942 mm, its height- 162 mm, width - 54 mm. These options will help you choose the most suitable installation location.
Irradiator "Azov"
Now more advanced quartz lamps have been developed that can work both in the presence of people and carry out quick disinfection in empty rooms. The bactericidal irradiator "Azov" is distinguished by its original design and ease of use. There are several models in this series. They differ in power, number of lamps and sizes.
They are designed for disinfection of air and various indoor surfaces. There are two-lamp models, the electrical circuit of which allows you to turn them on separately. That is, while people are in the room, a shielded lamp can work, and in their absence, a regular one. Distinctive features of the Azov series irradiators are long lamp life, high performance and reliability. With their help, you can evenly disinfect the air in large rooms.
For example, the bactericidal wall-mounted irradiator "Azov" is equipped with two lamps with a power of 30 W each. It emits wavelengths of 253.7 nm. Its electrical circuit allows you to turn on only the top shielded lamp. In this case, plants and people can remain in the room. In this case, the power of the irradiator is 30 W.
It has been established that the efficiency of such a quartz lamp is 0.65. At the same time, the disinfection performance at an efficiency of 99.9% is 132 m3every hour.
Irradiators of the Azov series can be used not only in medical institutions, such as polyclinics, hospitals, maternity hospitals, dentistry, cosmetology centers. They are also recommended for use in food industry shops, vegetable stores, canteens, food processing units for disinfecting containers and products. The use of lamps in children's educational, sports facilities allows you to destroy 99.9% of microorganisms in the premises.
The main thing is to be careful when turning on and not confuse the lamps, one of which can be turned on in the presence of people, and the other should only be used in empty rooms. After all, the use of an unshielded lighting disinfecting device can cause erythema and photophthalmia of the skin. Two lamps can be turned on simultaneously for quick disinfection of the room.
Methods of using quartz devices
There is a special technology by which the room must be disinfected. There is no need for a bactericidal quartz irradiator to work without interruption. In rooms of all types, closed lamps that can work in the presence of people must operate continuously for 1-2 hours. In the premises of medical institutions, such as treatment rooms, dressing rooms, laboratories, blood transfusion stations, operating rooms, open-type devices are used. They must be turned on for 15-30 minutes. The break between irradiation sessions should be at least 1-2 hours.
Treatment lamps: indications
But not all quartz lamps are equally harmful to living beings. There are, for example, devices designed for ultraviolet therapy. Thus, treatment with such irradiators can be indicated for patients suffering from bronchial asthma, acute neuralgia, peripheral nerve neuropathy, reactive and rheumatoid arthritis, deforming arthrosis, traumatic lesions of the musculoskeletal system and skin. They are also effective in the treatment of prolonged bronchitis, promote the healing of purulent wounds, bedsores, boils, inflammatory infiltrates. They are also recommended for the treatment of herpes zoster, erysipelas occurring in acute or chronic form, various gynecological inflammatory diseases.
In addition, the germicidal irradiator can be used for intracavitary irradiation. With its help, conditions are relieved with periodontitis, ginguinitis, periodontal disease, acute and chronic pharyngitis, tonsillitis, rhinitis. Irradiation promotes faster treatment of acute respiratory infections, inflammation in the middle and outer parts of the ears.
Contraindications
But there are a number of situations where the irradiator cannot be used for treatment. The bactericidal lamp is contraindicated in the presence of any malignant neoplasms, regardless of the course of the disease, after radical operations, with systemic diseases of the connective tissue, exacerbations of peptic ulcer, chronic hepatitis, photodermatosis and hypersensitivity to UV rays.
Also do not recommend usingbactericidal irradiator in patients with an active form of pulmonary tuberculosis, with a tendency to bleeding, circulatory failure, hyperthyroidism, arterial hypertension, with acute disorders of cerebral circulation, severe atherosclerosis, renal and hepatic insufficiency. In addition, the device is not used in febrile conditions, in the first 3 weeks after myocardial infarction.
Irradiator "Sun"
Quartz lamps can be used both in medical institutions and at home. If you plan to use the device in your home, then you can purchase a bactericidal UV irradiator "Sun".
It has a plastic case. On the front side, it closes with a special retractable screen. There are holes in it, in which interchangeable tubes are fixed.
Included with the irradiator are goggles that are designed for children's size. The kit also includes a Gorbachev biodosimeter. Using this device, you can determine the individual biodose, which will be calculated taking into account all the physiological characteristics of the patient. This allows you to optimally select the strength of the radiation even for small children.
Before the procedure, you must install the necessary nozzle-tube, turn on the device and wait about 5 minutes. After stabilization of burning of a lamp it is possible to start treatment. If local therapy is needed, the flap must be removed. Using a lamp, you can irradiate limited areas of the skin, the area of \u200b\u200bwhich does not exceed600 cm2.
By the way, the bactericidal irradiator "Sun" can also be used for disinfection of premises. To do this, simply remove the protective screen and turn on the device for about 30 minutes. Before such a procedure, do not forget to remove plants from the premises, remove people and animals.
Usage feedback
The effectiveness of indoor quartz lamps has been proven by many studies. It has been confirmed that irradiators are the cause of destructive photochemical modifying damage in the DNA structure of microorganisms. The most sensitive are cocci and rods - bacteria of the vegetative form. Protozoa and fungi are not so sensitive to the radiation emitted by a bactericidal irradiator. Feedback from experts and researchers suggests that spore forms of bacteria are the least susceptible.
If we talk about medical devices, then the opinion of patients who used them becomes interesting. So, many say that with their help you can completely get rid of rhinitis, manifestations of skin diseases, alleviate the condition with acute respiratory infections. The bactericidal irradiator "Solnyshko" helps to solve all these problems. True, it also has its drawbacks. These include, in particular, a curtain that does not have a mount, and glasses that are not very comfortable. Also, some patients say that it is not entirely clear how to change the lamp if it burns out.
