An antiseptic solution of Povidone-iodine applied to an abrasion

Antiseptics (Greek αντί, against, and σηπτικός, putrefactive) are antimicrobial substances that are applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction. They should generally be distinguished from antibiotics that destroy microorganisms within the body, and from disinfectants, which destroy microorganisms found on non-living objects. Some antiseptics are true germicides, capable of destroying microbes (bacteriocidal), whilst others are bacteriostatic and only prevent or inhibit their growth. Antibacterials are antiseptics that only act against bacteria. Image File history File linksMetadata ExAntiseptic. ... Image File history File linksMetadata ExAntiseptic. ... Betadine is the name of a consumer-available antiseptic used to treat minor cuts on mammals. ... An antimicrobial is a substance that kills or inhibits the growth of microbes such as bacteria (antibacterial activity), fungi (antifungal activity), viruses (antiviral activity), or parasites (anti-parasitic activity). ... Biological tissue is a collection of interconnected cells that perform a similar function within an organism. ... Beyond overall skin structure, refer below to: See-also. ... An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. ... Sepsis (in Greek Σήψις, putrefaction) is a serious medical condition, resulting from the immune response to a severe infection. ... Putrefaction is the decomposition of proteins, especially by anaerobic microorganisms. ... Staphylococcus aureus - Antibiotics test plate. ... A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ... This is an article about antimicrobial agents. ... Bacteriocidal prevents and combats bacterial infection. ... Bacteriostatic antibiotics hamper the growth of bacteria by interfering with bacteria protein production, interfering with bacteria DNA production interfering with bacteria cellular metabolism Bacteriostatic antibiotics inhibit growth and repoduction of the bacteria, though do not kill it, while bactericidal antibiotics kill bacteria. ...

Use in surgery

The widespread introduction of antiseptic surgical methods followed the publishing of the paper Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery in 1867 by Joseph Lister, inspired by Louis Pasteur's germ theory of putrefaction. In this paper he 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: “Surgeon” redirects here. ... Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery is a paper regarding antiseptics written by Joseph Lister in 1867. ... Cunt BAg Twat Fuk suck my penis ring 0778851865!!!!!!Year 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, OM , FRS (5 April 1827 – 10 February 1912) was an English surgeon who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. ... Louis Pasteur (December 27, 1822 – September 28, 1895) was a French chemist best known for his remarkable breakthroughs in microbiology. ... Phenol, also known under an older name of carbolic acid, is a colourless crystalline solid with a typical sweet tarry odor. ...

• Dr. George H Tichenor who experimented with the use of alcohol on wounds ca. 1861-1863, and subsequently marketed a product for this purpose known as "Dr. Tichenor's Patent Medicine " after the US Civil War.
• Ignaz Semmelweis who published his work "The Cause, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever" in 1861, summarizing experiments and observations since 1847.^[1]
• Florence Nightingale, who contributed substantially to the report on the Royal Commission on the Health of the Army (1856–1857), based on her earlier work
• Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., who published "The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever" in 1843.

and even the ancient Greek physicians Galen (ca 130–200 CE) and Hippocrates (ca 400 BCE). There is even a Sumerian clay tablet dating from 2150 BCE advocating the use of similar techniques.^[2] Dr. George Humphrey Tichenor (1837 - 1923) was a surgeon, and a pioneer in the use of antiseptics. ... The American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the northern states, popularly referred to as the U.S., the Union, the North, or the Yankees; and the seceding southern states, commonly referred to as the Confederate States of America, the CSA, the Confederacy... Ignaz Semmelweis (1860 portrait): advised handwashing with a chlorinated-lime solution in 1847. ... Embley Park, now a school, was the family home of Florence Nightingale. ... In states that are Commonwealth Realms a Royal Commission is a major government public inquiry into an issue. ... Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. ... Galen. ... Hippocrates of Cos II or Hippokrates of Kos (ca. ... Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar, native ki-en-gir) formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. ...

But every antiseptic, however good, is more or less toxic and irritating to a wounded surface. Hence it is that the antiseptic method has been replaced in the surgery of today by the aseptic method, which relies on keeping free from the invasion of bacteria rather than destroying them when present. “Surgeon” redirects here. ... Aseptic technique refers to a procedure that is performed under sterile conditions. ...

How it works

For the growth of bacteria there must be a certain food supply, moisture, in most cases oxygen, and a certain minimum temperature (see bacteriology). These conditions have been specially studied and applied in connection with the preserving of food and in the ancient practice of embalming the dead, which is the earliest illustration of the systematic use of antiseptics. Microbiology (in Greek micron = small and biologia = studying life) is the study of microorganisms, including unicellular (single-celled) eukaryotes and prokaryotes, fungi, and viruses. ... Various preserved foods Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food in such a way as to stop or greatly slow down spoilage to prevent foodborne illness while maintaining nutritional value, density, texture and flavor. ... Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and make it suitable for display at a funeral. ...

In early inquiries a great point was made of the prevention of putrefaction, and work was done in the way of finding how much of an agent must be added to a given solution, in order that the bacteria accidentally present might not develop. But for various reasons this was an inexact method, and today an antiseptic is judged by its effects on pure cultures of definite pathogenic microbes, and on their vegetative and spore forms. Their standardization has been affected in many instances, and a water solution of phenol of a certain fixed strength is now taken as the standard with which other antiseptics are compared. Phenol, also known under an older name of carbolic acid, is a colourless crystalline solid with a typical sweet tarry odor. ...

Some common antiseptics

• Alcohols

  Most commonly used are ethanol (60-90%), 1-propanol (60-70%) and 2-propanol/isopropanol (70-80%) or mixtures of these alcohols. They are commonly referred to as "surgical alcohol". Used to disinfect the skin before injections are given, often along with iodine (tincture of iodine) or some cationic surfactants (benzalkonium chloride 0.05 - 0.5%, chlorhexidine 0.2 - 4.0% or octenidine dihydrochloride 0.1 - 2.0%).

• Quaternary ammonium compounds

  Also known as Quats or QAC's, include the chemicals benzalkonium chloride (BAC), cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTMB), cetylpyridinium chloride (Cetrim), cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) and benzethonium chloride (BZT). Benzalkonium chloride is used in some pre-operative skin disinfectants (conc. 0.05 - 0.5%) and antiseptic towels. The antimicrobial activity of Quats is inactivated by anionic surfactants, such as soaps. Related disinfectants include chlorhexidine and octenidine.

• Boric acid

  Used in suppositories to treat yeast infections of the vagina, in eyewashes, and as an antiviral to shorten the duration of cold sore attacks. Put into creams for burns. Also common in trace amounts in eye contact solution. Though it is popularly known as an antiseptic, it is in reality only a soothing fluid, and bacteria will flourish comfortably in contact with it.

• Chlorhexidine Gluconate

  A biguanidine derivative, used in concentrations of 0.5 - 4.0% alone or in lower concentrations in combination with other compounds, such as alcohols. Used as a skin antiseptic and to treat inflammation of the gums (gingivitis). The microbicidal action is somewhat slow, but remanent. It is a cationic surfactant, similar to Quats.

• Hydrogen peroxide

  Used as a 6% (20Vols) solution to clean and deodorize wounds and ulcers. More common 1% or 2% solutions of hydrogen peroxide have been used in household first aid for scrapes, etc. However, even this less potent form is no longer recommended for typical wound care as the strong oxidization causes scar formation and increases healing time. Gentle washing with mild soap and water or rinsing a scrape with sterile saline is a better practice.

• Iodine

  Usually used in an alcoholic solution (called tincture of iodine) or as Lugol's iodine solution as a pre and post-operative antiseptic. No longer recommended to disinfect minor wounds because it induces scar tissue formation and increases healing time. Gentle washing with mild soap and water or rinsing a scrape with sterile saline is a better practice. Novel iodine antiseptics containing povidone-iodine (an iodophor, complex of povidone, a water-soluble polymer, with triiodide anions I₃^-, containing about 10% of active iodine) are far better tolerated, don't affect wound healing negativelly and leave a depot of active iodine, creating the so-called "remanent," or persistent, effect. The great advantage of iodine antiseptics is the widest scope of antimicrobial activity, killing all principial pathogenes and given enough time even spores, which are considered to be the most difficult form of microorganisms to be inactivated by disinfectants and antiseptics.

• Mercurochrome

  Not recognized as safe and effective by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to concerns about its mercury content. Another obsolete organomercury antiseptics include bis-(fenylmercury) monohydrogenborate (Famosept).

• Octenidine dihydrochloride

  A cationic surfactant and bis-(dihydropyridinyl)-decane derivative, used in concentrations of 0.1 - 2.0%. It is similar in its action to the Quats, but is of somewhat broader spectrum of activity. Octenidine is currently increasingly used in continental Europe as a QAC's and chlorhexidine (with respect to its slow action and concerns about the carcinogenic impurity 4-chloroaniline) substitute in water- or alcohol-based skin, mucosa and wound antiseptic. In aqueous formulations, it is often potentiated with addition of 2-phenoxyethanol.

• Phenol (carbolic acid) compounds

  Phenol is germicidal in strong solution, inhibitory in weaker ones. Used as a "scrub" for pre-operative hand cleansing. Used in the form of a powder as an antiseptic baby powder, where it is dusted onto the navel as it heals. Also used in mouthwashes and throat lozenges, where it has a painkilling effect as well as an antiseptic one. Example: TCP. Other phenolic antiseptics include historically important, but today rarely used (sometimes in dental surgery) thymol, today obsolete hexachlorophene, still used triclosan and sodium 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonate (Dibromol).

• Sodium chloride

  Used as a general cleanser. Also used as an antiseptic mouthwash. Only a weak antiseptic effect, due to hyperosmolality of the solution above 0.9%.

• Sodium hypochlorite

  Used in the past, diluted, neutralized and combined with potassium permanganate in the Daquin's solution. Nowadays used only as disinfectant.

  Commercial Antiseptics

  lysol, Febreeze, Scrubbing Bubbles, and Mr. Clean

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Isopropyl alcohol or isopropanol is a common name for 2-propanol, an alcohol commonly used for application to the skin, and popularly referred to as rubbing alcohol. ... Tincture of iodine is usually 5% elemental iodine in ethanol, although it is also available in 2%, 3%, and 7% mixtures. ... Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid, allowing easier spreading, and lower the interfacial tension between two liquids. ... R-phrases , , S-phrases , , RTECS number BO3150000 Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 Â°C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references Benzalkonium chloride (alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride) is a mixture of alkylbenzyl dimethylammonium chlorides of various alkyl chain lengths. ... Chlorhexidine (free base) structure Chlorhexidine Gluconate is an antiseptic used as an active ingredient in mouthwash designed to kill plaque and other oral bacteria. ... Categories: Chemistry stubs ... R-phrases , , S-phrases , , RTECS number BO3150000 Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 Â°C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references Benzalkonium chloride (alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride) is a mixture of alkylbenzyl dimethylammonium chlorides of various alkyl chain lengths. ... Cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) , aka hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, or 1-Hexadecanaminium, N,N,N-trimethyl-, bromide[1] ([2]) is one of the components of the antiseptic cetrimide[3]. It is a cationic surfactantCitation needed. ... Cetylpyridinium chloride is a cationic quaternary ammonium compound in some types of mouthwash such as Crest Pro-Health. ... Cetylpyridinium chloride is a cationic quaternary ammonium compound in some types of mouthwash such as Crest Pro-Health. ... Skeletal structure of benzethonium chloride Benzethonium chloride, also called hyamine, is a synthetic quaternary ammonium compound used as a germicide and an antimicrobial agent in cosmetics and personal care products like eg. ... Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid, allowing easier spreading, and lower the interfacial tension between two liquids. ... Chlorhexidine (free base) structure Chlorhexidine Gluconate is an antiseptic used as an active ingredient in mouthwash designed to kill plaque and other oral bacteria. ... Boric acid, also called boracic acid or orthoboric acid or Acidum Boricum, is a mild acid often used as an antiseptic, insecticide, flame retardant, in nuclear power plants to control the fission rate of uranium, and as a precursor of other chemical compounds. ... Candidiasis, commonly called yeast infection or thrush, is a fungal infection of any of the Candida species, of which Candida albicans is probably the most common. ... The vagina, (from Latin, literally sheath or scabbard ) is the tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. ... The Herpes simplex virus infection (common names: herpes, cold sores) is a common, contagious, incurable, and in some cases sexually transmitted disease caused by a double-stranded DNA virus. ... Chlorhexidine Gluconate is a chemical antiseptic, to combat both gram positive and gram negative microbes. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid, allowing easier spreading, and lower the interfacial tension between two liquids. ... Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a very pale blue liquid which appears colourless in a dilute solution, slightly more viscous than water. ... Endoscopic images of a duodenal ulcer. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iodine, I, 53 Chemical series halogens Group, Period, Block 17, 5, p Appearance violet-dark gray, lustrous Standard atomic weight 126. ... Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless, slightly toxic chemical compound, and is best known as the alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. ... Tincture of iodine is usually 5% elemental iodine in ethanol, although it is also available in 2%, 3%, and 7% mixtures. ... Lugols iodine, also known as Lugols solution, first made in 1829, is a solution of iodine named after the French physician J.G.A. Lugol. ... Betadine is the name of a consumer-available antiseptic used to treat minor cuts on mammals. ... An Iodophor is a preparation containing iodine complexed with a solubilizing agent, such as a surfactant or povidone. ... PVP (polyvinyl pyrrolidone, povidone, polyvidone) is made from the monomer n-vinyl pyrrolidone: The monomer is carcinogenic and is extremely toxic to aquatic life. ... A polymer (from Greek: πολυ, polu, many; and μέρος, meros, part) is a substance composed of molecules with large molecular mass composed of repeating structural units, or monomers, connected by covalent chemical bonds. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... A currently banned bottle of US Mercurochrome. ... hi “FDA” redirects here. ... General Name, Symbol, Number mercury, Hg, 80 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 6, d Appearance silvery Standard atomic weight 200. ... Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid, allowing easier spreading, and lower the interfacial tension between two liquids. ... In pathology, a carcinogen is any substance or agent that promotes cancer. ... Phenoxyethanol is an organic chemical compound often used in dermatological products such as skin creams. ... Phenol, also known under an older name of carbolic acid, is a colourless crystalline solid with a typical sweet tarry odor. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the Kate Nash song see Mouthwash (song) Mouthwash or mouth rinse is a product used for oral hygiene. ... An analgesic (colloquially known as a painkiller) is any member of the diverse group of drugs used to relieve pain (achieve analgesia). ... 200ml TCP bottle TCP is a mild antiseptic, produced and sold in the United Kingdom by Pfizer. ... Thymol is a phenol derivative of cymene, C10H13OH, isomeric with carvacrol, found in oil of thyme, and extracted as a white crystalline substance of a pleasant aromatic odor and strong antiseptic properties. ... Hexachlorophene also known as Nabac is an antiseptic agent. ... Triclosan (chemically 5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenol) is a potent wide spectrum antibacterial and antifungal agent. ... Jordanian and Israeli salt evaporation ponds at the south end of the Dead Sea Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or halite, is a chemical compound with the formula NaCl. ... Renal physiology is the study of the physiology of the kidneys. ... Sodium hypochlorite is a chemical compound with the formula NaClO. A solution of sodium hypochlorite is frequently used as a disinfectant and as a bleaching agent; indeed, often it is simply called bleach, though other chemicals are sometimes given that name as well. ... Potassium permanganate is the chemical compound KMnO4. ... Lysol may refer to: Lysol (cleaner), a trade name for household cleaners Lysol (album), a 1992 album by The Melvins Lysol (Chappelles Show), Actor muMs da Schemer played Lysol in The Mad Real World skit on Chappelles Show. ... Febreze is a brand of household fabric odor freshener manufactured by Procter & Gamble, sold in North America and Europe. ... S.C. Johnson Scrubbing Bubbles logo The Scrubbing Bubbles are mascots for Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner from S. C. Johnson & Son. ... Mr. ...

See also

Look up Antiseptic in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Asepsis
• Aseptic technique
• Cleanliness
• Disinfection
• Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Asepsis is the practice to reduce or eliminate contaminants (such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites) from entering the operative field in surgery or medicine to prevent infection. ... Aseptic technique refers to a procedure that is performed under sterile conditions. ... “Cleanup” redirects here. ... Disinfection is the destruction of pathogenic and other kinds of microorganisms by physical or chemical means. ... A low pressure mercury vapor discharge tube floods the inside of a hood with shortwave UV light when not in use, sterilizing microbiological contaminants from irradiated surfaces. ...

References

1. ^ Ignaz Semmelweis and the birth of infection control, M Best and D Neuhauser, Qual Saf Health Care 2004;13:233-234.
2. ^ Inflammation in Wound Repair: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms: Editor's Note, Russell P. Hall, III, Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2007) 127, 514–525. doi:10.1038/sj.jid.5700701

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.