Should a scalpel be disinfected or sterilized? Why?
1 Answer
A scalpel should be sterilized.
Explanation:
Disinfection and sterilization are decontamination processes.
The main difference between sterilizing and disinfecting is that with sterilization we killi all microorganisms and they spores and with disinfection we reduce harmful microorganisms but we do not eleminate their spores.
Sterilization is used in medicine to kill microorganisms on surgical instruments.
Sterilization prevents: spread of diseases and double surgeries.
If unsterilized equipment is used in operation, it can cause an infection which may appear later. When it appears, we have to peroform a surgery again in order to remove the infetion. This is can cause many complications.
Some methods of sterilization are:
A. PHYSICAL: sun Light, drying, heat, ultra sonic cleaning, high pressure, filtration...
B. CHEMICAL: phenol derivatives, acids...
On the picture above we see an autoclave [pressure chamber] for the sterilization process.
