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Basic concepts about asepsis and antiseptics. Asepsis and antisepsis - what are they? Basic aseptic agents

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on the topic: "Asepsis and antiseptics. Types of asepsis and antiseptics"

Saratov 2016

INTRODUCTION

Before the introduction of aseptic and antiseptic methods, postoperative mortality reached 80%: patients died from purulent, putrefactive and gangrenous processes. The nature of rotting and fermentation, discovered in 1863 by Louis Pasteur, became a stimulus for the development of microbiology and practical surgery, making it possible to assert that the cause of many wound complications are also microorganisms.

This abstract will discuss disinfection methods such as asepsis and antiseptics.

These concepts should be considered in a complex of measures that complement each other; one without the other will not have the best result.

Antiseptics implies a set of measures aimed at destroying microbes on the skin, in a wound, in a pathological formation or in the body as a whole. There are physical, mechanical, chemical and biological antiseptics.

Asepsis is a method of surgical work that prevents microbes from entering or developing in the surgical wound. On all objects surrounding a person, in the air, in water, on the surface of his body, in the contents of internal organs, etc. there are bacteria. Therefore, surgical work requires compliance with the basic law of asepsis, which is formulated as follows: everything that comes into contact with the wound must be free of bacteria, i.e. sterile.

Antiseptics

Antiseptics (Latin anti - against, septicus - rotting) is a system of measures aimed at destroying microorganisms in a wound, pathological focus, organs and tissues, as well as in the patient’s body as a whole, using mechanical and physical methods of influence, active chemical substances and biological factors.

The term was introduced in 1750 by the English surgeon J. Pringle, who described the antiseptic effect of quinine.

The introduction of asepsis and antisepsis into surgical practice (along with anesthesia and the discovery of blood groups) is one of the fundamental achievements of medicine of the 19th century.

Before the advent of antiseptics, surgeons almost never took the risk of operations associated with opening the cavities of the human body, since interventions in them were accompanied by almost one hundred percent mortality from surgical infections. Professor Erikoen, Lister's teacher, stated in 1874 that the abdominal and thoracic cavities, as well as the cranial cavity, would forever remain inaccessible to surgeons.

In the emergence and development of asepsis and antisepsis, five stages can be distinguished:

· empirical period (the period of application of individual, not scientifically substantiated methods);

Dolister antiseptic;

Lister antiseptic;

· occurrence of asepsis;

· modern antiseptics.

Types of antiseptics

antiseptic exogenous infection infection

1). Mechanical antiseptics

2). Physical antiseptics.

3). Chemical antiseptic

4). Biological antiseptics.

Mechanical antiseptics is the destruction of microorganisms by mechanical methods. In practice, this comes down to removing tissues containing microorganisms. Mechanical antiseptics are the most important, because If the source of infection is not removed, it is practically useless to fight it with chemical and biological methods. Mechanical antiseptic methods include:

1). Wound toilet (treatment of the skin around the wound, removal of wound exudate, necrotic tissue).

2). Primary surgical treatment of the wound (dissection, excision of infected and non-viable tissue, hemostasis, drainage for the outflow of exudate). PSO is carried out to prevent wound suppuration.

3). Secondary surgical treatment (dissection, excision of necrotic tissue, removal of pus, wide drainage).

4). Other operations and manipulations (opening of abscesses, phlegmon, panaritium, osteomyelitis, etc., puncture of the maxillary sinus, pleural cavity).

Physical antiseptics are physical methods that create unfavorable conditions for microbes in the wound:

1). Use of hygroscopic dressing material (gauze, cotton wool). Wound tamponade must be done loosely, because at the same time, the outflow of exudate increases significantly.

2). The use of hypertonic sodium chloride solution (10%, in children 5%). When tampons are wetted with a hypertonic solution, due to the difference in osmotic pressure, the outflow of exudate from the wound occurs faster.

3). Drainage is based on the principles of capillarity and communicating vessels. There are 3 types of drainage:

· Passive drainage. They use rubber strips, tubes (rubber, silicone or polyvinyl chloride), as well as cigar drains (a swab moistened with an antiseptic is inserted into the glove or its finger). Recently, double-lumen tubes have been used more often.

· Active drainage: a plastic accordion, a rubber bulb or a special electric suction is attached to the drainage tube. Negative pressure is created in them, due to which exudate actively enters their cavity. Active drainage is possible only if the wound is completely sealed, i.e. it must be completely sutured.

· Flow-through drainage: I install at least 2 drains into the wound. According to one of them, antiseptics (antibiotics, proteolytic enzymes) are constantly administered, according to the other, it flows away. The first drainage should be located in the upper corner of the wound, and the outlet one in the lower corner. Flow-flushing drainage is a typical example of mixed antiseptics, because it uses chemical, physical and biological methods.

4) Exposure to environmental factors:

· Treatment of wounds without applying a bandage in rooms with high temperatures and low humidity. This leads to the wound drying out and a scab forms, under which the microorganisms die.

· Washing the wound.

5). Application of sorbents.

They use carbon-containing substances (polyphepane, SMUS-1 coal), as well as special napkins impregnated with sorbents (manufactured in the factory).

6). Application of technical means:

· Ultraviolet irradiation of the wound: causes the death of microbes and also promotes drying of the wound.

· Ultrasonic treatment (cavitation): an antiseptic is poured into the wound and the tip of a device that is a source of ultrasound is inserted. Under the influence of ultrasound, microcirculation in the wound walls improves, necrotic tissue is rejected faster, and the metabolism of microbial cells is disrupted.

· Low power laser irradiation has a bactericidal effect. Typically a gas (carbon dioxide) laser is used.

· X-ray therapy is used to suppress infection in deep tissues and bones.

· Chemical antiseptics is based on the use of chemicals (antiseptics) to destroy microbes in the wound.

Biological antiseptics is the use of drugs that act directly on a microorganism, or indirectly by affecting the human body.

Methods of using antiseptics

· Local application: washing the wounds, applying a bandage with an antiseptic to the wound, periodically irrigating the wound through drainage, introducing an antiseptic into the purulent cavity by puncturing it, treating the skin around the wound, treating the surgical field.

· Soaking the tissues around the purulent focus with an antiseptic solution in novocaine (short blockade according to A.V. Vishnevsky).

· Introduction of antiseptics into the lesion using physiotherapeutic procedures (electrophoresis).

· Administration of antiseptics intramuscularly, intravenously, intraarterially, into the thoracic lymphatic duct, intraosseously. This method also has an effect on the entire body as a whole.

The microorganism and its metabolic products are directly affected by:

· Antibiotics.

· Bacteriophages.

· Proteolytic enzymes (trypsin, chymotrypsin, chymopsin, terrilitin). Proteolytic enzymes are part of Iruksol ointment.

· Means of specific passive immunization: therapeutic serums, antitoxins, specific gamma globulin, hyperimmune plasma.

Other methods act on the body, increasing its immunity:

· Vaccines (for example, rabies).

· Toxoids (eg tetanus).

· Methods that stimulate nonspecific resistance: ultraviolet and laser irradiation of blood, quartz treatment, prefusion of blood through the xenospleen, transfusion of blood and its preparations.

· Immunomodulators: thymus preparations (thymalin, T-activin), prodigiosan, lysozyme, levamisole, interferons, interleukins.

· Vitamins.

· Anatoxins (staphylococcal, tetanus).

Routes of administration of antiseptics

1. Enteral administration - through the gastrointestinal tract.

Antibiotics and sulfonamides are administered this way.

2. External use - for the treatment of wounds: in the form of powder, ointment, solution;

3. Abdominal administration - into the joint cavities, abdominal, pleural cavities;

4. Intravenous administration (intraarterial);

5. Endoscopic introduction - through a bronchoscope into the bronchi, into the cavity

lung abscess; through FGS - into the esophagus, stomach, duodenum;

6. Endolymphatic administration - into lymphatic vessels and nodes.

Thus, endolymphatic antibiotic therapy for peritonitis is widely used in surgery.

Asepsis

Asepsis is a set of measures aimed at preventing the entry of microorganisms into the wound.

Asepsis is a way to prevent suppuration of wounds. Asepsis should be distinguished from antiseptics, which aims to destroy the causative agents of inflammation already present in the wound, using certain chemicals such as carbolic acid, mercuric chloride, etc.

The German surgeon Ernst von Bergmann is considered one of the founders of asepsis. He proposed physical methods of disinfection - boiling, burning, autoclaving. This happened at the X Congress of Surgeons in Berlin in 1890. In addition to them, there is a chemical method and a mechanical one.

In the aseptic method of treating wounds, they use exclusively water decontaminated by boiling; all dressings and instruments are also decontaminated by flowing steam or boiling.

Asepsis is applicable before and during operations on healthy tissues, but is not applicable where the presence of inflammatory agents in the wound can be assumed.

Asepsis has undoubted advantages over antiseptics in terms of treatment results, and also because with the aseptic method of treating wounds there is no poisoning, which is possible when using some antiseptics. Thanks to the aseptic measures taken, the need for antiseptics in the postoperative period is significantly reduced, which significantly reduces treatment costs.

Asepsis is a method of preventing wound infection. Preventive destruction of microbes, preventing them from entering the wound. Maintaining sterility during surgery, sterilizing devices and instruments. Everything that comes into contact with the wound must be sterile.

The basis of asepsis is sterilization.

Sources of infections

There are exogenous and endogenous sources of infection.

The main sources of exogenous infection are patients with purulent-inflammatory diseases and carriers of bacilli. Infection occurs by airborne droplets (with splashes of saliva and other liquids), contact (from objects in contact with the surface of the wound), implantation (from objects left in the wound - sutures, drainages, etc.) by way.

Sources of endogenous infection are chronic inflammatory processes in the body of the patient outside the operation area (diseases of the skin, teeth, tonsils) or in the organs on which the operation is performed (vermiform appendix, gall bladder, etc.), as well as saprophytic flora of the oral cavity, intestines, respiratory tract, etc. Routes of infection - contact, lymphogenous, hematogenous.

Sterility control

1.physical

2.chemical

3.biological

1. Physical: take a test tube into which is poured some substance that melts at a temperature of about 120 degrees - sulfur, benzoic acid. The disadvantage of this control method is that we see that the powder has melted and that the required temperature has been reached, but we cannot be sure that it was like this throughout the entire exposure time.

2. Chemical control: take filter paper, place it in a starch solution, and then immerse it in Lugol's solution. It acquires a dark brown color. After exposure in an autoclave, starch is destroyed at temperatures above 120 degrees, and the paper becomes discolored. The method has the same drawback as the physical one.

3. Biological control: this method is the most reliable. They take samples of the sterilized material and inoculate them on nutrient media; no microbes are found - that means everything is in order. If microbes are found, it means it is necessary to re-sterilize. The disadvantage of the method is that we receive an answer only after 48 hours, and the material is considered sterile after autoclaving in a jar for 48 hours. This means that the material is used even before receiving a response from the bacteriological laboratory.

The most dangerous source of contact infection is the surgeon's hands. Physical methods are not applicable to sterilize the skin; in addition, the difficulty lies in the fact that after treating the hands, they again become contaminated due to the secretion of the sebaceous and sweat glands. Therefore, tanning of the skin with alcohol and tannin is used, and a sharp spasm of the excretory ducts of the sweat and sebaceous glands is observed, and the infection that is located there is unable to come out.

In recent years, mainly chemical methods of hand treatment have begun to be used: hand treatment with pervomur is widespread. This method is extremely reliable: the glove juice formed within 12 hours after putting on gloves (in the experiment) remained sterile.

Asepsis includes:

a) sterilization of instruments, materials, devices, etc.;

b) special treatment of the surgeon’s hands;

c) compliance with special rules and work methods when conducting operations, research, etc.;

d) implementation of special sanitary, hygienic and organizational measures in a medical institution.

Sterilization methods

· steam under pressure (linen);

· boiling (metal tools, except cutting ones);

· dry-air cabinets (you can burn the tool over a flame);

· cold sterilization (immersion of rubber gloves in chloramine);

· 96% ethyl alcohol (30 min.).

Prevention of exogenous infection

Aseptic methods are used in the fight against exogenous infection. The sources of the latter are patients and bacteriological carriers, especially if they are among medical personnel. The prevention of droplet infection in operating rooms and dressing rooms is facilitated by equipping them with a special ventilation system (the predominance of the influx of air masses over the hood, installing a laminar flow of conditioned air), organizing a special operating mode in them, taking measures aimed at destroying existing microorganisms: timely damp cleaning, irradiation of air masses using bactericidal lamps, as well as strict adherence by medical staff to the required sanitary standards. Prevention of contact contamination is ensured by sterilization of linen for surgery, dressings and sutures, rubber gloves, instruments, special treatment of the surgeon’s hands and the surgical field. Everything that comes into contact with the wound must be free of bacteria, or, in other words, must be sterile. This is the basic principle of asepsis. Sterilization of suture material has a special purpose in preventing wound infection. Responsibility for correctly performed sterilization rests with the operating nurse.

Requirements for antiseptic agents

Preparations used for antiseptic treatment must meet the following requirements:

1. wide spectrum of action;

2. speed of action;

3. complete disinfection (asepsis) of transient microorganisms;

4. reduction of contamination of resident microflora to a normal level;

5. long-term effect after treatment (at least 3 hours);

6. absence of skin irritation, allergenic, carcinogenic, mutagenic and other side effects;

7. slow development of microflora resistance;

8. affordability.

Bibliography

· Gostishchev V.K. General surgery. -- "GEOTAR-Media", 2006.

· Antibacterial therapy for abdominal surgical infection. Edited by acad. Savelyeva V.S. - M., 2006

· http://vmede.org/sait/?page=3&id=Xirurgiya_objaya_petrov_2010&menu=Xirurgiya_objaya_petrov_2010

· http://www.e-ng.ru/medicina/aseptika_i_antiseptika.html

· Asepsis, antiseptics: textbook. manual for foreign students / V. A. Beloborodov, E. A. Kelchevskaya; GBOU VPO IGMU of the Ministry of Health of Russia. - Irkutsk: IGMU, 2013.

· T.Kh.Kayumov. Lectures

Asepsis and antiseptics - what is it? In modern medicine, this question remains one of the most common. Knowledge of asepsis and antisepsis remains one of the main sections in the medical specialty.

Asepsis is a set of measures that are aimed at preventing the penetration of infectious agents into the wound, body tissues, organs and body cavities of the patient. These measures are carried out during surgical manipulations and diagnostics.

Asepsis is the destruction of microorganisms by performing disinfection and sterilization processes using physical influences and chemicals.

Types of sources of surgical infections

There are two types of sources of surgical infection: endogenous and exogenous. The first type is located directly in the patient’s body, the second - in the environment that surrounds the patient.

In the prevention of endogenous infection, the main importance is given to antiseptics, exogenous - asepsis.

Prevention of endogenous wound infection involves identifying and sanitizing infectious foci in a patient who is being prepared for scheduled surgery. Such an operation must be postponed if the patient is febrile, he has been diagnosed with purulent skin lesions (asepsis in dermatology), tonsillitis, dental caries (asepsis in dentistry) or other purulent foci.

When there is a contaminated injury in the area close to the surgical field, it is limited with sterile napkins, special films from the surgical incision, sealed with a medical plaster, and in some cases, suturing is used, followed by thorough treatment of the surgical area. And only then do the manipulation itself, strictly observing the rules of asepsis.

Prevention of exogenous infection

Aseptic methods are used in the fight against exogenous infection. The sources of the latter are patients and bacteriological carriers, especially if they are among medical personnel.

The prevention of droplet infection in operating rooms and dressing rooms is facilitated by equipping them with a special ventilation system (the predominance of the influx of air masses over the hood, installing a laminar flow of conditioned air), organizing a special operating mode in them, taking measures aimed at destroying existing microorganisms: timely damp cleaning, irradiation of air masses using bactericidal lamps, as well as strict adherence by medical staff to the required sanitary standards.

Prevention of contact contamination is ensured by sterilization of linen for surgery, dressings and sutures, rubber gloves, instruments, special treatment of the surgeon’s hands and the surgical field. Everything that comes into contact with the wound must be free of bacteria, or, in other words, must be sterile. This is the basic principle of asepsis. Sterilization of suture material has a special purpose in preventing wound infection. Responsibility for correctly performed sterilization rests with the operating nurse.

Operating block mode

Visits to operating rooms by unauthorized persons are limited as much as possible, and personnel movement is reduced. Persons participating in the operating process must wear special medical clothing (sterile gowns, caps, masks, shoe covers). The level of contamination of air masses in the operating room and dressing room is assessed through bacteriological studies carried out with a certain systematicity.

Preparation for the operation involves a strictly established procedure for preoperative actions. The operating nurse should be the first to prepare for the operation. This process consists of the following sequence: putting on a mask, washing hands, putting on a sterile gown, resorting to the help of junior medical staff, then sterile gloves. This is followed by laying out linen, sterile instruments, and suture material on a sterile table. Next, the operating surgeon and his assistants clean their hands, using the operating room nurse, dress in sterile medical clothing and begin preparing the area for the operation, which is pre-secured with sterile linen.

When aseptic conditions are created, one of the main measures is the sanitization of the medical staff of the institution. And only in cases where it does not bring a positive effect, they resort to labor transfer of carriers outside the surgical departments.

Antiseptics and its types

Antiseptics (and as a part of it, asepsis) is a set of therapeutic and preventive measures that are aimed at destroying microorganisms in a wound, other pathological focus or in the whole body.

The following types of asepsis and antiseptics are distinguished:

1. Preventive antiseptics - aimed at preventing the penetration of microorganisms through the wound surface or into the patient’s body (hand treatment of medical staff, treatment of suspected skin lesions with an antiseptic drug, etc.).

2. Therapeutic antiseptics, which is divided into the following methods:

  • mechanical (removal of infected and non-viable tissue, primary surgical treatment of the wound, etc.);
  • physical (absorbent dressings, hyperosmotic solutions, ultrasound action, etc.);
  • chemical (use of bactericidal and bacteriostatic agents);
  • biological (antibacterial drugs, antitoxins, bacteriophages, proteolytic enzymes, etc.);
  • mixed.

The general principles of asepsis follow from the above:

  1. Everything that comes into contact with the wound (medical instruments) must be sterile.
  2. Classification of all patients in surgical departments into “clean” and “purulent”.

The role of the hands of medical personnel

The hands of health workers who are directly involved in the provision of medical care can become a factor in the transfer of pathogenic and conditionally pathogenic microorganisms. The microflora of the skin of the upper extremities can be of two types: permanent and transient. The first develops in the stratum corneum of the skin, sebaceous and sweat glands, hair follicles, and its representatives are Staphylococcus epidermidis, etc. The composition of the permanent microflora is more or less stable and forms the protective function of the skin. In areas of periungual folds and on interdigital surfaces there may additionally be Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas, various types of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella and other opportunistic microorganisms.

Transient microflora enters the skin as a result of communication with contaminated areas of the patient’s body or contaminated environmental objects. It remains on the surface of the skin for up to a day, is represented by pathogenic and conditionally pathogenic microbes, like permanent microflora, it depends on the profile of the medical institution.

Various types of effects on the stratum corneum of the skin, which lead to an imbalance of the permanent microflora (use of brushes, alkaline hand detergents, aggressive antiseptics, lack of emollient components in alcohol-containing antiseptics), contribute to the formation of skin dysbiosis. Its characteristic indicator is the predominance in a permanent strain of gram-negative conditionally pathogenic microflora, including hospital strains that are resistant to antibacterial, antiseptic drugs and disinfectants. Thus, the hands of healthcare workers can become both a factor in the transmission of infectious diseases and their source.

If transient microflora can be removed mechanically (by washing hands and using antiseptics), then the permanent population practically cannot be destroyed in this way. Sterilization of the skin is impossible and undesirable, because the preservation of the stratum corneum and a constant population of microorganisms prevents the colonization of more dangerous microbes.

Modern methods of treating surgeon's hands

In connection with the physiology described above, in the countries of Western Europe, the main methods of treating the surgeon’s hands have undergone changes and improvements (according to Alfeld-Furbringer, Spasokukotsky-Kochergin).

Of the large number of methods used at the present stage for disinfecting the skin of the hands, only one is carried out according to the European standard, and is recorded in the manner prescribed by law as “European norm 1500” (EN 1500). This norm is used by two thirds of the countries of the European continent: Belgium, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Greece, Iceland, Finland, Luxembourg, Holland, Norway, Portugal, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, England.

It is recognized as the most suitable for hygienic and surgical treatment of the hands of personnel in medical institutions. In the Russian Federation, there is instruction No. 113-0801 dated September 5, 2001, which provides methods for various types of treatment of the skin of the hands and forearms of operating surgeons.

Hygienic treatment of brushes

Indications for such processing are as follows:

  • communicating with patients with infectious diseases with a definite or probable cause;
  • contact with physiological secretions of patients (pus, blood, feces, etc.);
  • manual and instrumental research and activities;
  • after visiting the isolation ward of the infectious diseases hospital;
  • after visiting the toilet;
  • at the end of the work shift.

Special requirements for hand treatment:

  • the antiseptic is applied exclusively to dry skin;
  • use of elbow dispensers to avoid excess antiseptic;
  • It is prohibited to use additional objects to apply the antiseptic;
  • mandatory rotation of antiseptics that contain active ingredients with different mechanisms of antibacterial action;
  • compliance with the established sequence of actions, dose of the product and exposure when performing each stage of processing.

Hand hygiene steps

1. An antiseptic is applied to the skin in an amount of 3 ml and thoroughly rubbed in for 30-60 seconds until completely dry. Next, you need to carry out the following manipulations:

  • rub palm surfaces against each other;
  • rub the palm of your right hand along the back of your left hand and in the reverse order;
  • rub the palm surfaces, crossing and spreading your fingers;
  • rub the back surface of the bent fingers over the palms of the other hand;
  • rub your thumbs in circular steps;
  • In circular steps, alternately rub the palm surfaces with your fingertips and in the reverse order.

2. Contamination with biological materials is removed with a sterile cotton swab or napkin moistened with an antiseptic solution. Then 3 ml of antiseptic is applied to the surface of the hands and rubbed into the skin until completely dry, paying special attention to the interdigital, palm and back surfaces for at least ½ minute, and rinsed off with running water, followed by washing.

Surgical treatment of hands and its stages

Surgical treatment of hands is a method of preparing extremities for surgical operations, dressings and other surgical procedures in order to disinfect the skin and prevent the penetration of microbes onto sterile objects and onto the wound surface.

Hands are subjected to surgical treatment in case of contact (direct or indirect) with sterile formations of the body (catheterization of blood vessels, punctures, etc.).

Stages of surgical treatment:

  1. Wash your hands and forearms for two minutes without using additional products with warm running water and soap with a neutral pH.
  2. Drying with a sterile towel.
  3. 5-minute rubbing of an antiseptic into the skin surface of the hands and forearms in the standard way.
  4. Air drying the skin.
  5. Wearing sterile gloves.
  6. At the end of surgical procedures, remove gloves and wash in warm water and liquid soap for two minutes. Then - lubrication with nourishing cream.

Types of antiseptics

Types of asepsis depend on the method of using antiseptic drugs. There are local and general antiseptics. The first is divided into superficial (use of ointments, washing wounds and cavities, etc.) and deep (injection of the drug into a wound or inflammatory focus).

General asepsis is the saturation of the entire body with an antiseptic drug (antibacterial agent, sulfonamides), which subsequently enters the infectious focus with the blood or affects the microorganisms contained in the blood itself.

When using one or another type of asepsis, it is necessary to remember its possible side effects: intoxication (use of chemical antiseptics), damage to important anatomical structures (mechanical), photodermatitis (physical), allergies, dysbacterial reactions, addition of fungal infections (biological), etc.

Requirements for antiseptic agents

Preparations used for antiseptic treatment must meet the following requirements:

  • wide spectrum of action;
  • speed of action;
  • complete disinfection (asepsis) of transient microorganisms;
  • reduction of contamination of resident microflora to a normal level;
  • long-term effect after treatment (at least 3 hours);
  • absence of skin irritation, allergenic, carcinogenic, mutagenic and other side effects;
  • slow development of microflora resistance;
  • affordability.

In conclusion, we can say that a set of measures that are aimed at preventing the penetration of microorganisms into the wound is called “asepsis”. This can be achieved by complete disinfection of all used objects in contact with the wound surface.

Asepsis and antiseptics - what is it? This issue remains one of the pressing issues in the medical field.

Before the introduction of aseptic and antiseptic methods, postoperative mortality reached 80%: patients died from purulent, putrefactive and gangrenous processes. The nature of rotting and fermentation, discovered in 1863 by Louis Pasteur, became a stimulus for the development of microbiology and practical surgery, making it possible to assert that the cause of many wound complications are also microorganisms.

This abstract will discuss disinfection methods such as asepsis and antiseptics.

These concepts should be considered in a complex of measures that complement each other; one without the other will not have the best result.

Asepsis is a method of surgical work that prevents microbes from entering or developing in the surgical wound. On all objects surrounding a person, in the air, in water, on the surface of his body, in the contents of internal organs, etc. there are bacteria. Therefore, surgical work requires compliance with the basic law of asepsis, which is formulated as follows: everything that comes into contact with the wound must be free of bacteria, i.e. sterile.

ANTISEPTICS

Antiseptics implies a set of measures aimed at destroying microbes on the skin, in a wound, in a pathological formation or in the body as a whole. There are physical, mechanical, chemical and biological antiseptics.

With physical antiseptics, they ensure the outflow of infected contents from the wound and thereby cleanse it of microbes, toxins and tissue decay products. This is achieved by using gauze tampons, drains made of rubber, glass, and plastic. The hygroscopic properties of gauze are significantly enhanced when it is wetted with hypertonic solutions (5-10% sodium chloride solution, 20-40% sugar solution, etc.).

Open wound treatment methods are used without applying a bandage, which leads to drying of the wound with air and thus creating unfavorable conditions for the development of microbes. Physical antiseptics also include the use of ultrasound, laser beams, and physiotherapeutic procedures.

Mechanical antiseptics are techniques for removing infected and non-viable tissues from a wound, which serve as the main breeding ground for microorganisms. These are operations called active surgical debridement, as well as wound care. They are of great importance for preventing the development of wound infection.

Chemical antiseptics include substances with a bactericidal or bacteriostatic effect (for example, sulfonamide drugs) that have a detrimental effect on the microflora.

Biological antiseptics constitute a large group of drugs and techniques, the action of which is directed directly against the microbial cell and its toxins, and a group of substances that act indirectly through the human body. Thus, the following mainly affect the microbe or its toxins: 1) antibiotics - substances with pronounced bacteriostatic or bactericidal properties; 2) bacteriophages; 3) antitoxins, administered, as a rule, in the form of serums (antitetanus, antidiphtheria, etc.).

Vaccines, toxoids, blood and plasma transfusions, administration of immune globulins, methylthiouracil preparations, etc. act indirectly through the body, increasing its immunity and thereby enhancing protective properties.

Proteolytic enzymes lyse dead and non-viable tissue, promote rapid wound cleansing and deprive microbial cells of nutrients. According to observations, these enzymes, by changing the habitat of microbes and destroying their shell, can make the microbial cell more sensitive to antibiotics.

Biological antiseptics involves the use of biological agents, as well as the influence on the immune system of the macroorganism. We have a suppressive effect on microbes and a stimulating effect on the immune system. The largest group of drugs of biological origin are antibiotics; as a rule, these are waste products of various types of fungi. Some of them are used unchanged, some are subject to additional chemical treatment (semi-synthetic drugs), and there are also synthetic antibiotics. Antibiotics are divided into various groups, the pencillin group, proposed back in the 30s by Fleming, is especially widely used, and in our country this drug was synthesized by the group of Academician Ermolyeva. The introduction of penicillin into medical practice caused a revolution in medicine. That is, diseases that were fatal to humans, say pneumonia, from which millions of people died all over the world, began to respond to successful treatment. Purulent complications have become much less common in surgery. However, the misuse of penicillin for 20 years led to the fact that already in the 50s the doctors themselves completely compromised it. This happened because the strict indications for the use of penicillin were not taken into account; penicillin was prescribed for influenza to avoid complications - pneumonia caused by staphylococci or pneumococci. Or surgeons, when performing an operation for an inguinal hernia, prescribed antibiotics to avoid purulent complications. Currently, antibiotics cannot be used prophylactically, except in cases of emergency prophylaxis. The second circumstance is that it was prescribed in low doses. As a result, not all microbes were exposed to penicillin, and the microbes that survived the use of penicillin began to develop protective mechanisms. The most well-known protective mechanism is the production of penicillinase, an enzyme that destroys penicillin. This property is characteristic of staphylococci. Microbes began to include tetracycline antibiotics in their metabolic cycle. Strains have evolved that can only live in the presence of these antibiotics. Some microbes have rearranged their cell membrane receptors so as not to perceive antibiotic molecules.

In the 60s, a new group of antibiotics appeared - antifungal antibiotics. The fact is that as a result of the large-scale use of antibiotics, people began to experience suppression of their own microflora of the colon, E. coli is suppressed, and it is vital for humans, for example, for the absorption of vitamins (K, B12). Recently, another mechanism of interaction between the human body and E. coli was discovered: E. coli is absorbed into the vessels of the intestinal villi and enters the portal vein through the mesenteric veins, and then to the liver and is killed there by Kupffer cells. Such bacteremia in the blood of the portal vein is important for maintaining a constant tone of the immune system. So, when E. coli is suppressed, these mechanisms are disrupted. Thus, antibiotics reduce the activity of the immune system.

As a result of the fact that normal microflora is suppressed by antibiotics, microflora that is completely unusual for a healthy person can develop. Among this microflora, fungi of the genus Candida are in first place. The development of fungal microflora leads to the occurrence of candidiasis. In our city, 10-15 cases of sepsis caused by canidomycosis are reported annually. That is why a group of antifungal antibiotics has appeared, which are recommended for use against dysbacteriosis. These antibiotics include levorin, nystatin, metragil, etc.

ASEPSIS

A method of surgical work that prevents microbes from entering or developing in the surgical wound. On all objects surrounding a person, in the air, in water, on the surface of his body, in the contents of internal organs, etc. there are bacteria. Therefore, surgical work requires compliance with the basic law of asepsis, which is formulated as follows: everything that comes into contact with the wound must be free of bacteria, i.e. sterile.

ASEPTICA is a set of preventive surgical measures aimed at preventing infection from entering the wound. This can be achieved by sterilizing everything that comes into contact with it. Aseptic technique was proposed by the German surgeon Bergman. This happened at the 9th Congress of Surgeons in Berlin. Bergman proposed physical methods of disinfection - boiling, burning, autoclaving.

Asepsis and antiseptics represent a single set of measures; they cannot be separated.

According to the source of infection, they are divided into exogenous and endogenous. Paths of penetration of endogenous infection: lymphogenous, hematogenous, through intercellular spaces, especially loose tissue, contact (for example, with a surgical instrument). For surgeons, endogenous infection does not pose a particular problem, unlike exogenous one. Depending on the route of penetration, exogenous infection is divided into airborne droplet, contact and implantation. Airborne infection: since there are not many microbes in the air, the likelihood of airborne infection is not high. Dust increases the likelihood of airborne contamination. Basically, measures to combat airborne infections come down to dust control and include ventilation and ultraviolet irradiation. Cleaning is used to combat dust. There are 4 types of cleaning:

1. preliminary is that in the morning before the start of the operating day, all horizontal surfaces are wiped with a cloth moistened with a 0.5% chloramine solution.

2. routine cleaning is carried out during the operation and means that everything that falls on the floor is immediately removed

3. final cleaning - after the operating day and it consists of washing the floors and all equipment with a 0.5% chloramine solution and turning on ultraviolet lamps. It is impossible to sterilize the air with the help of such lamps, but they are used in the place of the greatest sources of infection.

4. Ventilation is a very effective method - after it, microbial contamination drops by 70-80%.

For a very long time it was believed that airborne infection was not dangerous during operations, but with the development of transplantation with the use of immunosuppressants, operating rooms began to be divided into 3 classes:

1. first class - no more than 300 microbial cells in 1 cubic meter of air.

2. Second class - up to 120 microbial cells - this class is intended for cardiovascular operations.

3. The third class is the class of absolute asepsis - no more than 5 microbial cells per cubic meter of air. This can be achieved in a sealed operating room, with ventilation and sterilization of air, with the creation of a high-pressure zone inside the operating room (so that the air flows out of the operating rooms). Special lock doors are also installed.

Droplet infection is those bacteria that can be released into the air from the respiratory tract of everyone in the operating room. Microbes are released from the respiratory tract with water vapor, the water vapor condenses and, along with these droplets, microbes can enter the wound. To reduce the risk of the spread of droplet infection in the operating room, there should be no unnecessary talk. Surgeons must use 4-layer masks, which reduce the likelihood of infection by droplet infection by 95%.

Contact infection is all microbes that are able to penetrate the wound with any instrument, with everything that comes into contact with the wound. Dressing material: gauze, cotton wool, threads tolerate high temperatures, so should not be less than 120 degrees, exposure should be 60 minutes.

Sterility control. There are 3 groups of control methods:

1. Physical: take a test tube into which is poured some substance that melts at a temperature of about 120 degrees - sulfur, benzoic acid. The disadvantage of this control method is that we see that the powder has melted and that the required temperature has been reached, but we cannot be sure that it was like this throughout the entire exposure time.

2. Chemical control: take filter paper, place it in a starch solution, and then immerse it in Lugol's solution. It acquires a dark brown color. After exposure in an autoclave, starch is destroyed at temperatures above 120 degrees, and the paper becomes discolored. The method has the same drawback as the physical one.

3. Biological control: this method is the most reliable. They take samples of the sterilized material and inoculate them on nutrient media; no microbes are found - that means everything is in order. If microbes are found, it means it is necessary to re-sterilize. The disadvantage of the method is that we receive an answer only after 48 hours, and the material is considered sterile after autoclaving in a jar for 48 hours. This means that the material is used even before receiving a response from the bacteriological laboratory.

In recent years, mainly chemical methods of hand treatment have begun to be used: hand treatment with pervomur is widespread. This method is extremely reliable: the glove juice formed within 12 hours after putting on gloves (in the experiment) remained sterile.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF RATIONAL ANTIBIOTIC THERAPY

1. Purposeful use of antibiotics: according to strict indications, in no case for prophylactic purposes

2. Knowledge of the pathogen. The results of the bacteriological examination appear only after 12 hours, and the person must be treated immediately. Every third case of surgical infection is caused not by a monoculture, but by many pathogens at once. There can be 3-8 or more. In this association, one of the microbes is the leader and the most pathogenic, and the rest can be fellow travelers. All this makes it difficult to identify the pathogen, so it is necessary to put the cause of the disease at the forefront. If a person faces a serious complication or death, then it is necessary to use reserve antibiotics - cephalosporins.

3. Correct choice of dosage and frequency of antibiotic administration based on maintaining the required level of antibiotic concentration in the blood.

4. Prevention of possible side effects and complications. The most common side effect is allergy. Before using an antibiotic, a skin test should be performed to determine sensitivity to the antibiotic. To reduce the risk of toxicity between antibiotics. There are antibiotics that enhance the adverse effects of each other. There are antibiotics that weaken it. To select antibiotics, there are antibiotic compatibility tables.

5. Before starting antibiotic therapy, it is necessary to find out the condition of the patient’s liver, kidneys, and heart (especially when using toxic drugs).

6. Development of an antibacterial strategy: it is necessary to use a/b in various combinations. The same combination should be used for no more than 5-7 days; during treatment, if there is no effect, it is necessary to change the antibiotic to another.

7. When a person becomes ill of an infectious etiology, it is necessary to monitor the state of the immune system. It is necessary to use our existing methods for studying humoral and cellular immunity in order to promptly identify a defect in the immune system.

There are three ways to influence immunity:

· active immunization, when antigens are introduced, in surgery these are vaccines, toxoids.

· Passive immunization with serums, gamma globulin.

Antitetanus, antistaphylococcal gamma globulins, and immunomodulation are widely used in surgery. The use of various immune stimulants: aloe extract, autohemotherapy and other methods, but the lack of stimulating effect is that we act blindly, not on any specific immune mechanism. Along with normal ones, there are also pathological immune reactions - autoimmune aggression. Therefore, what is happening now is not immunostimulation, but immunomodulation, that is, an effect only on the defective part of the immune system. Nowadays, various lymphokines, interleukins, interferons, and drugs obtained from the thymus gland that affect the T-population of lymphocytes are used as immunomodulators. Various extracorporeal immunomodulation techniques can also be used: ultraviolet blood transillumination, hemosorption, hyperbaric oxygenation, etc.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Borodin F.R. Selected lectures. M.: Medicine, 1961.

2. Zabludovsky P.E. History of Russian medicine. M., 1981.

3. Zelenin S.F. A short course in the history of medicine. Tomsk, 1994.

4. Stochnik A.M. Selected lectures on the course of history of medicine and cultural studies. – M., 1994.

5. Sorokina T.S. History of medicine. –M., 1994.

Antiseptics is a set of measures aimed at destroying microbes and their spores that have entered a wound using physical, mechanical, chemical and biological methods. There are physical, mechanical, chemical and biological antiseptics.

Physical antiseptics ensure the outflow of purulent contents from the wound into the dressing using tampons with hygroscopic drainage. The hygroscopicity of gauze increases if tampons and napkins are moistened in hypertonic solutions of sodium chloride (5-10%), glucose (20-40%). One type of physical antisepsis is the method of open wound treatment and the use of ultraviolet rays, which dry the wounds and destroy the infection.

Mechanical antisepsis is carried out using primary surgical treatment of the wound, when dead tissue is cut off and the wounds and cavities are washed.

Chemical antiseptics is the use of various chemicals that exhibit bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects on pathogenic microorganisms and their spores.

Biological antiseptics uses methods that increase the immunobiological resistance of the body (the use of vaccines, serums, enzyme preparations, antibiotics).

Antiseptic substances are divided into chemical, biological and phytoncides; they are used to destroy microbes, delay their development, and enhance reactive processes in the wound itself. Antiseptic substances that destroy microbes are called bactericidal, and those that inhibit their development and reproduction are called bacteriostatic.

There are superficial and deep antiseptics. In the superficial method, antiseptic substances are used for irrigation and rinsing, baths, lubrication, lotions and powders, and they are also applied to bandages that are placed on wounds. Deep antiseptics involves the introduction of antiseptic substances and antibiotics into tissues and cavities intravenously or intraarterially and inhalation.

Asepsis is a set of various methods aimed at preventing the entry of microbes into wounds as a result of the use of physical factors and chemicals. The main type of asepsis is sterilization.

Sterilization- destruction of bacteria and spores on surgical instruments, surgical linen, dressings, drainages, the surgical field, the hands of the surgeon and operating nurse, surgical gloves using boiling, steam under pressure, dry air, as well as chemical, bactericidal substances and x-rays.

To prevent germs from entering the wound in the operating and dressing unit, air sanitation (cleaning) is carried out in operating rooms, dressing rooms, postoperative wards by ventilation, irradiation with bactericidal lamps, maintaining cleanliness in the operating and dressing unit, postoperative wards, and regularly carry out wet cleaning using antiseptics (Lysol , carbolic acid, chloramine), observe the rules of behavior in the surgical dressing unit (medical personnel wear sterile clothing - a cotton suit, gown, cap, scarf, slippers, mask).

It is prohibited for persons with upper respiratory tract diseases, purulent wounds, or wearing woolen clothing to run, talk loudly, or enter the operating room. Accordingly, the hands of the surgeon and the operating nurse, the surgical field are prepared for the operation, the dressings and surgical linen are sterilized.

Sterilization of surgical instruments by boiling is carried out in boilers (with the exception of cutting instruments).

There are different types of sterilization. Dry-air (dry-heat) sterilization is carried out in dry-heat sterilizers with dry hot air, the temperature of which is from 180 to 200 ° C. It is used to disinfect surgical instruments and glassware.

Radiation sterilization is based on the use of X-rays, which, at the appropriate dosage, have a bactericidal effect (they destroy microbes). Bandages, syringes for single use, transfusion systems, cotton wool, bandages, and napkins are sterilized in this way. This sterilization does not change the properties of the sterilized items, since the rays pass through plastic film, paper and fabric packaging. Sealed items remain sterile.

Sterilization by chemical means (cold sterilization) is the immersion of objects that need to be sterilized in a solution of a certain chemical composition. For this purpose, ethyl alcohol is widely used to sterilize cutting instruments (scalpels, scissors, needles for sewing tissue).

Sterilize with steam under pressure using closed steam boilers with double walls, between which steam circulates. The steam temperature reaches 128 ° C, so pathogenic pathogens die within 30-40 minutes.

More than a hundred years ago, the French scientist Pasteur proved that the processes of decay and fermentation are caused by microorganisms. The English surgeon Lister, based on the work of Pasteur, came to the conclusion that wounds become infected as a result of these microorganisms entering them. N. I. Pirogov was the first to express the idea of ​​infection of wounds with “hospital miasma”. Long before Lister, he used alcohol, lapis and iodine to disinfect wounds.

A person constantly comes into contact with a huge number of microbes in the air and on surrounding objects. A variety of microorganisms can be found on the skin and mucous membranes of a healthy person. However, they penetrate into the body only when the integrity of the skin or mucous membranes is damaged due to wounds, abrasions, injections, burns, a decrease in the protective properties of the body, impaired blood supply, cooling, exhaustion and weakening of the human body due to general diseases.

Microbes that have penetrated into the tissue cause purulent-inflammatory phenomena at the site of penetration (wound suppuration, abscesses, phlegmon), and in more severe cases, when they enter the bloodstream, a general purulent infection (sepsis).

Most surgical procedures (operations, injections, blockades, intravenous and subcutaneous infusions, etc.) are accompanied by one or another violation of the integrity of the skin, as a result of which the penetration of microbes into the body becomes possible. Prevention of wound infection and the fight against microorganisms that have entered the wound are carried out using a set of measures called “antiseptics” and “asepsis”.

ASEPSIS.

Asepsis is a set of measures aimed at preventing the entry of microbes into the wound.
This is achieved by complete disinfection of all objects that may come into contact with the wound.

The complete destruction of microbes and their spores on surgical linen, instruments, suture and dressing material, gloves and surgeons’ hands is called sterilization.

Sterilization is carried out in various ways: steam under pressure (autoclaving), dry heat, piercing, boiling, burning, soaking in antiseptic solutions and antibiotic solutions. Sterilization is widely used radioactive radiation (gamma rays), UV rays (mercury-quartz lamps) and etc.
An object is considered sterile if there are no microbes capable of multiplying on its surface or in its thickness. The sterility of objects is controlled by bacteriological inoculation on special nutrient media.

Dressing material and its sterilization.

The material used during operations and dressings to drain wounds and the surgical field, tamponade wounds and apply various dressings is called dressing. The dressing material must have good hygroscopicity, dry quickly, be elastic, and be easy to sterilize. Of the many different dressing materials, the most widely used are gauze, cotton wool, lignin.

Gauze - cotton fabric made of sparsely interwoven threads, which has the ability to absorb blood, pus and other liquids well. Gauze is elastic, soft, does not clog the wound and therefore is the material from which bandages, napkins, tampons, and turunds are made.

cotton wool - cotton seed boll fibers. In medicine, absorbent (fat-free) cotton wool is used, which has a high absorption capacity. Cotton wool is applied to the wound over gauze, which increases the suction capacity of the dressing and protects the wound from external influences.

Lignin - corrugated sheets of the thinnest paper - used instead of absorbent cotton wool.

The dressing material is produced both non-sterile in large rolls and bags (the preparation of the dressing material of the required size and its sterilization is carried out by medical workers on site) and sterile in small hermetically sealed parchment bags.
For providing first aid outside a medical institution (at work, in the field, at home), sterile bags are most convenient. Sterile dressing material is available in the form of bandages or napkins of various sizes or individual bags, special bandages and bags impregnated with antiseptic solutions of iodoform, brilliant green, syntomycin, etc. and drugs that increase blood clotting (for example, hemostatic gauze).

First aid in enterprises and institutions provided by medical workers at a health center or sanitary post, i.e., enterprise employees trained in first aid, who have at their disposal a first aid kit, stretchers, and splints. Health centers and sanitary posts must be provided with the necessary supply of sterile dressing material. The most convenient for storage and use are ready-made standard bags with sterile bandages, napkins, and cotton wool. It is necessary to have an individual dressing package, the use of which allows you to quickly and reliably protect the wound from contamination.

In the absence of sterile dressing material, it is prepared from non-sterile large pieces of gauze.
Napkins and tampons in packs of 10 pieces are placed in containers and autoclaved. Sterile dressing material is stored in closed containers. Instead of standard individual packages, you can prepare improvised ones. To do this, take a piece of gauze measuring 6X9 cm, place an even layer of cotton wool in the center, almost to the edges, fold it in half with the gauze outward, and wrap it in parchment paper measuring 16X16 cm. Individual bags are placed in bags and sterilized.

Sterilization of linen and dressings is most often carried out under pressure in autoclaves.
Linen and dressings are usually sterilized and stored in metal drums (biksah). On the side walls of the bins there are holes for steam to pass inside, which, after sterilization, are closed by moving the metal rim. If the holes of the bix are open, the material is unsterile. Dressing material can be sterilized in bags made of thick fabric.

The sterility of the material after autoclaving is controlled using special tests. Together with the material, test tubes containing powdered sulfur, lithipyrine, amidopyrine or another substance whose melting point is about 120°C are placed in the containers. At high temperatures (120-134°C) the substance melts. If melting does not occur, the contents of the containers cannot be considered sterile. Sometimes the Mikulicz method is used. On a strip of filter paper they write “sterile” in pencil, the strip is smeared with starch paste, and then immersed in an aqueous solution of iodine - the strip becomes intensely blue and the inscription ceases to be visible. The strips are also placed in containers with material. When exposed to temperatures above 110°C, starch turns into dextrin, which causes the blue color to disappear and the word “sterile” to become visible.

Sometimes sterilization control is carried out using biological sample. A piece of silk thread is impregnated with a solution to which a certain amount of spore-bearing bacteria has been added, and packaged in sterile paper. After autoclaving, the silk threads are placed in nutrient media and grown. The absence of bacterial growth indicates the effectiveness of sterilization.
Sterilized linen must be dry; otherwise, its sterility is questionable.

In emergency cases, in the absence of sterile gauze or bandages, pieces of any clean cloth can be used as a dressing material. However, before placing washed cloth on the wound, it must be ironed well with a hot iron.

If it is impossible to sterilize the dressing material in this way, then non-sterile gauze or other hygroscopic material (cloth) should be moistened with a solution of ethacridine lactate (rivanol), a weak solution of potassium permanganate, sodium tetraborate (borax) (2 teaspoons per glass of boiled water) or a boric solution acid 1/3 teaspoon per glass of boiled water). In exceptional cases, a dressing soaked in one of these solutions can be applied to the wound.

Surgical instruments and their sterilization.

Modern surgical instruments are very diverse.
Knives, scalpels, and scissors are used to cut tissue; tweezers and various hooks are used to grasp and hold soft tissue; and various hemostatic clamps are used to stop bleeding. They connect fabrics by stitching them using various needles or staples.

For dressings, tweezers (anatomical and surgical), scissors, probes (grooved and button-shaped), hooks for widening the wound, various hemostatic clamps, and forceps are used.
Dressings are used with sterile instruments, regardless of whether the wound is clean or purulent, - instrumental dressing.
After each dressing, the instrument must be washed and re-sterilized. After bandaging purulent wounds, the instruments are sterilized separately.

Metal instruments are sterilized by calcination and dry heat in special dry-heat ovens. The most common are electrically heated cabinets, in which after 10-15 minutes the temperature reaches 140-180°C. Complete sterility of instruments at this temperature occurs after 20-30 minutes.

The simplest method of sterilization is boiling. Sterilization by boiling can be carried out in any container, over any heat source. There are special sterilizers - boilers of various sizes, from pocket to large stationary.

Boiling can be used to sterilize metal instruments, other glass products, gloves, rubber catheters and tubes, some plastic instruments, and in special cases, dressings. Sterilize instruments by boiling in sterile water. Sterility of water is easily achieved by boiling twice for 30 minutes at an interval of 6 hours: with such fractional boiling, even the most persistent microbial spores die. Alkali (sodium bicarbonate) is added to the water until a 2% solution is obtained. Alkaline water speeds up sterilization and prevents oxidation and rust on instruments. Nickel-plated instruments should be immersed in boiling water, and they should cool on a table covered with sterile oilcloth. Glass products (syringes, flasks, jars, glasses) should not be immersed in boiling water to avoid damage.

In case of emergency metal tools can beOuninfected in an accelerated way - burning . Burning is carried out with burning alcohol. The instrument is placed in a basin, poured with alcohol and set on fire. The flame provides relatively satisfactory disinfection, one ­ But this method does not provide reliable sterilization.

Hand treatment and disinfection of gloves.

To prevent infection from entering the wound, the hands of the person performing any surgical procedure must be thoroughly cleaned, and the nails must be cut short.

Hand treatment includes: thorough mechanical cleaning of the skin, washing in an antiseptic solution and tanning the skin. Tanning is often carried out with alcohol, which, by thickening the skin, causes the pores to close and thereby prevents “self-infection” of the hands. There are many ways to treat your hands.

The Spasokukotsky-Kochergin method.
Contaminated hands (hands and forearms) are thoroughly washed with soap and water to remove “household” dirt. The main treatment of hands is carried out in two enamel basins with a warm solution of ammonia (Sol. Ammonii caustici). Add 10 ml of ammonia to each basin of 2 liters of boiled water. Hand washing is done with sterile gauze wipes. Movements should be vigorous, and hands should be immersed in the solution most of the time. In the first basin, the forearms, nail beds, and palms are washed especially thoroughly; in the second basin, mainly the hands and the area of ​​the wrist joints are washed. The duration of hand treatment in each basin is 3 minutes. Then dry your hands thoroughly with a sterile towel or napkin. Dry hands (hands and wrist joints) are treated with 96% ethyl alcohol twice for 2 1/2 minutes.

Furbringer method.
Hands are washed with soap and two sterile hair brushes for 10 minutes under warm running water. Then the hands are wiped with a sterile napkin, treated with 70% ethyl alcohol for 3 minutes and a solution of sublimate 1: 1000. The nail beds are smeared with an alcohol solution of iodine.

Method for disinfecting hands with performic acid.
Hands are washed with soap and running water, wiped dry with a sterile cloth, then washed in this solution for a minute and dried with a sterile cloth. The disinfectant solution is prepared 1-1 1/2 hours before use. A 2.4% solution of the C-4 formulation is used. To prepare 1 liter of solution, take 17 ml of a 33% hydrogen peroxide solution and 7 ml of a 100% formic acid solution, mix them and keep them in the refrigerator for an hour. Then distilled or boiled water is added to the resulting solution to 1 liter.

Method for disinfecting hands with cerigel.
Zerigel is a colorless viscous liquid that has a significant bactericidal effect and quickly hardens in air. When you treat your hands with Zerigel, a film forms on them and your hands end up in sterile “gloves.” Method of use: pour 5 ml of Zerigel solution into dry palms and rub it vigorously for 8-10 seconds so that the solution covers the surface of the fingers, hands and the area of ​​the wrist joints. Hands are dried for 2-3 minutes in such a position that the fingers do not touch each other.
The film (“glove”) is easily washed off the hands with a swab moistened with alcohol.

Surgical gloves significantly increase the reliability of disinfection, but their use does not replace mandatory hand washing. Gloves are sterilized by autoclaving or boiling.

Expedited hand cleaning in emergency situations.
When providing first aid, hands should, if possible, be disinfected using one of the indicated methods, especially if the victim has wounds or other damage to the skin and mucous membranes (abrasions, burns, frostbite).
In emergency cases, hand cleaning can be done in a simpler way. Hands are washed with soap and water and dried with a clean towel. Then take a small lump of cotton wool or bandage in your hands, pour 5-7 ml of a tanning or disinfectant solution onto it and thoroughly wipe your fingers and hands with it for 1-2 minutes.

To tan leather, you can use ethyl alcohol, 5% alcohol solution of iodine, 5% tannin solution; for disinfection - 5% solution of phenol (carbolic acid), solution of mercury dichloride (sublimate) 1: 1000, solution of diocide (1:5000), 0.5% solution of chloramine B, 1% solution of degmin. If sterile gloves are available, they can be placed on non-sterile hands. In the process of providing assistance when hands become dirty, they can be wiped again with the same disinfectant solution.