Wound treatment / by Louis A. Merillat, E. Wallis Hoare, and others.

  • Louis A. Merillat
Date:
1915
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Wound treatment / by Louis A. Merillat, E. Wallis Hoare, and others. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/198 (page 15)
    1. Type or OrRGANISM.—In the early days of antisep- sis, disinfectants were tested bacteriologicaily with the idea of discovering some chemical agent that would destroy all known bacteria when used in a weak solution. No such universal antiseptic has been found. On the contrary, it has been found that different antiseptics have a selective action upon certain types of organisms. For example, bichlorid of mercury is a most powerful disinfectant for anthrax, but has only a weak action on tubercle bacilli and is much less effective than some other drugs (creolin, lysol, alcohol) for superficial dis- infection of the skin, while ecarbolic acid is relatively ineffective against tetanus bacilli, anthrax spores, and tuberele bacilli. It therefore follows that in disinfec- tion the different organisms and bacteria must be con- sidered individually. In general, it can be said that spore-bearing bacteria require stronger disinfectants than non-spore bearers. Here again individual differ- ences in resistance of species of spores and vegetative forms manifest themselves. It is, therefore, difficult to make a comparative table of individual drugs. In gen- eral, the strongest disinfectants which also destroy spores are mercuric chlorid, silver nitrate, iodin, creolin, lysol, liquor eresolis compound and other eresol preparations, and formalin. The weaker disinfectants which kill only spore-free organisms are coal tar, carbolic acid, salicylic acid, dyes, boric acid, and calcium lyes (whitewash) and acids. Individual Resistance of Organisms.—The individual resistance of different organisms varies. Some infectious agents are very readily destroyed while others are very resistant. For practical purposes disease-producing micro-organisms may be divided into two groups on the basis of their power to resist disinfection.