Medical and surgical asepsis

Definitions & Key takeaways

Medical and surgical asepsis is the practice of preventing infection by eliminating or reducing the number of microorganisms on an object or in an environment. It is done through various means such as hand hygiene, disinfection, sterilization, and proper waste management.

Medical and surgical asepsis are essential for the prevention of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), which cause about 100,000 deaths in the United States each year. By practicing good medical and surgical asepsis, healthcare workers can reduce the likelihood of transmitting harmful microorganisms to patients.

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With asepsis, sepsis refers to infection, while the prefix “a” means “the absence of.” In other words, asepsis is defined as the absence of pathogens.
Now, there are two basic types of asepsis: medical asepsis and surgical asepsis. Medical asepsis, which is also known as “clean technique,” are practices that kill some microorganisms to prevent them from spreading.
On the flip side, surgical asepsis, which is also known as “sterile technique,” includes practices that completely kill and eliminate microorganisms.Let’s start with medical asepsis which includes sanitization, antisepsis, and disinfection.
Sanitization refers to cleaning practices and techniques that physically remove microorganisms. These include hand washing and cleaning of clients’ personal equipment, clothing, and linens.
Now, there are several things that you should know in order to maintain a sanitary environment. The most important one is hand hygiene which includes hand washing and use of hand sanitizer.
Always wash your hands before meals, after using the bathroom, and before and after any contact with your clients. Don’t forget to wash your hands after touching your own or your client’s body fluids, such as urine, feces, blood, saliva, vomitus, or genital discharge.
Next, when coughing or sneezing, always cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or your elbow. Teach your clients to do the same.
Next up are personal items. Each client should have their own soap, cups, toothbrushes, and towels.
Personal equipment should be regularly cleaned to prevent the growth of microorganisms. Also, when cleaning the room and objects, make sure to not stir up the dust.
In other words, avoid shaking dirty linens, and use a moistened cloth or mop to wipe dust. When disposing dirty linens to laundry bins, keep them away from your uniform.
This way, you will prevent the contamination of your uniform, and subsequently, you will prevent the spread of microorganisms.
Also, regularly empty the garbage because trash is a perfect environment for pathogens to grow. Finally, have good personal hygiene and assist your clients to achieve the same!Next, we have antisepsis which is the process of killing microorganisms or limiting their growth on the skin and non-living objects.
Chemicals used in antisepsis are called antiseptics and the most common ones include rubbing alcohol and iodine. Antiseptics can be used for hand scrubbing; treating cuts, wounds, and burns; and preoperative skin cleaning.Moving on to disinfection.
This refers to the process of killing microorganisms on objects that are commonly in contact with your clients, such as overbed tables, wheelchairs, stretchers, urinals, bedpans, and blood pressure cuffs.
It’s important to note that disinfection cannot destroy spores, which are highly resistant forms of microorganisms that develop in conditions that are inconvenient for their growth.
Chemicals used in disinfection are called disinfectants. In contrast to antiseptics, disinfectants are much stronger; therefore, they are not used on the skin!
Moreover, in order to prevent skin irritation, you should always wear household or utility gloves while handling disinfectants.
Switching gears and moving on to surgical asepsis. Examples of surgical asepsis include the use of disposable sterile supplies, such as syringes, needles, and surgical gloves and the use of reusable sterile equipment, such as surgical instruments.
Most commonly, surgical asepsis is acquired through a process known as sterilization. You can think of sterilization as the highest level of asepsis because it kills both microorganisms and spores.
Just like disinfection, sterilization is not used on people; instead, it is used on equipment and instruments that must be totally free of microorganisms.
For example, a commonly used device to sterilize surgical instruments is the autoclave which uses high pressure and temperature to kill microorganisms and their spores.Finally, it’s important to note that before something can be disinfected or sterilized, organic materials, such as blood, feces or urine, must be removed using sanitization practices and techniques.All right, as a quick recap...
There are two basic types of asepsis: medical asepsis and surgical asepsis. Medical asepsis, which is also known as “clean technique,” covers practices that reduce the number and spread of microorganisms.
These include sanitization, antisepsis, and disinfection. Sanitization refers to cleaning practices and techniques that are used to physically remove microorganisms.
Antisepsis is the process of killing microorganisms or limiting their growth on the skin and objects. Disinfection is the process of killing microorganisms on objects that are commonly in contact with your clients.
On the other hand, surgical asepsis, which is also known as “sterile technique,” includes practices that completely kill and eliminate microorganisms.
The most important one is sterilization, a process that kills both microorganisms and their