From ancient times, ancient doctors understood the importance of cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting products on the environment. Medieval Europe confirms the fact that a safe life without hygiene and antiseptics is practically impossible.
Today, disinfection helps protect humanity from many diseases. High-quality antiseptics of the hands of medical staff and the disinfection of environmental objects, medical devices, and other potentially infected objects help prevent the spread of many dangerous infections and preserve the health and life of a huge number of people.
If earlier aggressive substances such as bleach or carbolic acid were used for disinfection, today there are many safer products on the market that not only destroy dangerous pathogens but also do not harm human health and the environment.
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The modern disinfectant market offers more effective and safer solutions that are optimal in terms of the ratio “efficiency – quality-price”. So, choosing this or that product, it is worth giving preference to disinfectants, which are characterized by a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity, do not damage processing objects, do not have a sharp irritating smell and are safe for users and the environment, easy to prepare working solutions, etc.
Underwear, bedding, towels are boiled or soaked in a disinfectant solution (at the rate of 4 liters of working disinfectant per 1 kg of dry linen), followed by washing, rinsing, and drying. For some diseases, bedding (mattresses, pillows, blankets) must be disinfected in a disinfection chamber. Tableware is boiled or immersed in a disinfectant solution at the rate of 2 liters of solution per 1 set of dishes (shallow and deep plate, cup, saucer, spoon, fork, teaspoon).
Sanitary equipment is sprayed or wiped with a cloth moistened with a disinfectant solution; the exposure is disinfected and washed with water. The floor, door handles, furniture and other objects that the patient used or had contact with are wiped with napkins moistened with a disinfectant solution in the mode (concentration of the solution, disinfection time) against the pathogen of the infection that the patient was sick with.
There are two types of disinfection, focal (anti-epidemic) and preventive disinfection.
Focal disinfection is carried out in the environment of the patient with a specific diagnosis. This helps protect people who are in contact with the patient from infection, as well as minimize the possibility of infection being carried outside the epidemic focus.
Focal disinfection is divided into current and final.
Current disinfection is carried out repeatedly in the immediate environment of the patient during the entire infectious period. It aims to destroy the pathogen to prevent the accumulation and spread of infection among healthy people. All items with which the patient is in contact are subject to processing, including the surfaces of the premises, furniture, dishes, bedding and other objects.
The current disinfection in infectious foci at home is carried out by persons who care for the patient or the patient himself. In medical institutions, the current disinfection is carried out by medical personnel. All health workers who have been in contact with an infectious patient should carry out several disinfection measures so as not to become infected and become a factor in the spread of infection.
Final disinfection is carried out once after removing the source of the causative agent of an infectious disease (for example, hospitalization, recovery, departure, etc.). All items that were surrounded by the patient and which he used should be disinfected. The main task of the final disinfection is the complete disinfection of all objects with which the patient was in contact indoors. Objects are disinfected by various methods, including mechanically, using chemical preparations, subjected to heat treatment, quantization (ultraviolet irradiation) and other processing methods.
The modern disinfectant market offers more effective and safer solutions that are optimal in terms of the ratio “efficiency – quality – price.” So, choosing this or that product, it is worth giving preference to disinfectants, which are characterized by a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity, do not damage processing objects, do not have a sharp irritating smell and are safe for users and the environment, easy to prepare working solutions, etc.
Preventive disinfection is carried out systematically in places where the source of the causative agent of the infection — a sick or “healthy” carrier — is likely to be present (hospitals, food production facilities, hotels, saunas, swimming pools, catering establishments, hairdressers, etc.). This procedure helps to prevent the spread and accumulation of the pathogen in the environment. It should be carried out in public places, at food trade facilities, in transport and other sites.
In a nutshell, to prevent the occurrence of diseases, wet cleaning of premises, common areas, disinfection of drinking water and effluents, ventilation of rooms and other measures that help prevent the emergence and accumulation of pathogens in the environment are carried out.