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Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances that are applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction. Some common antiseptics are alcohol, iodine, hydrogen peroxide, and boric acid. Some antiseptics are true germicides, capable of destroying microbes (bactericidal), whilst others are bacteriostatic and only prevent or inhibit their growth. Different antiseptics differ in how easily bacteria are able to find genetic defenses against particular compounds. It can also be dose dependent; resistance can occur at low doses but not at high; and resistance to one compound can sometimes increase resistance to others. The body also produces its own antiseptics, which are a part of the chemical barriers of the immune system. Enzymes such as lysozyme and phospholipase A2 in saliva, tears, and breast milk are also antiseptic. Vaginal secretions serve as a chemical barrier following menarche, when they become slightly acidic, while semen contains defensins and zinc to kill pathogens. In the stomach, gastric acid and proteases serve as powerful chemical defences against ingested pathogens.
History
Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (July 1, 1818 - August 13, 1865), a Hungarian physician demonstrated that puerperal fever (also known as "childbed fever") was contagious and that its incidence could be drastically reduced by enforcing appropriate hand-washing behaviour by medical care-givers. He made this discovery in 1847 while working in the Maternity Department of the Vienna Lying-in Hospital. However his theory was largely disregarded by the medical community.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, post-operative sepsis infection accounted for the death of almost half of the patients undergoing major surgery. A common report by surgeons was: operation successfully but the patient died. In 1859, Joseph Lister was selected from seven candidates for the post of Regius Professorship of Surgery at Glasgow University. In August 1861 he was appointed surgeon at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and put in charge of its new surgical building. It was expected that the new building would decrease the number of deaths caused by what was then called hospital disease (now known as operative sepsis). But this practice proved futile as Lister reported that between 45 and 50 percent of his amputation cases died from sepsis between 1861 and 1865 in his Male Accident Ward. It was in this ward that Lister began his experimental work with antisepsis.
After trying various methods like cleaning hands, with little, or no success, Lister began to form theories to account for the prevalence of sepsis. He disregarded the popular concept of direct infection by bad air. He postulated that sepsis might be caused by a 'pollen-like dust'. Although, there was no evidence to suggest it's existence. Lister had read a paper published (in French) by the French chemist Louis Pasteur. The paper proposed that rotting and fermentation could occur under anaerobic conditions if micro-organisms were present. Pasteur had suggested three methods to eliminate the microorganisms responsible for gangrene: filtration, exposure to heat, or exposure to chemical solutions. Lister confirmed Pasteur's conclusions with his own experiments and decided to use his findings to develop antiseptic techniques for wounds. As the first two methods suggested by Pasteur were inappropriate for the treatment of human tissue, Lister experimented with the third.
Even before the work of Pasteur on fermentation and putrefaction, Lister had been convinced of the importance of scrupulous cleanliness and the usefulness of deodorants in the operating room; and when, through Pasteur's researches, he realized that the formation of pus was due to bacteria, he proceeded to develop his antiseptic surgical methods. Carbolic acid (phenol) had been in use as a means of deodorising sewage, so Lister tested the results of spraying instruments, the surgical incisions, and dressings with a solution of it. Lister found that carbolic acid solution swabbed on wounds remarkably reduced the incidence of gangrene. He subsequently published a series of articles on the 'Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery' describing this procedure in Volume 90, Issue 2299 of The British Medical Journal published on 21 September 1867. He also made surgeons wear clean gloves and wash their hands before and after operations with 5% carbolic acid solutions. Instruments were also washed in the same solution and assistants sprayed the solution in the operating theatre. One of his suggestions was to stop using porous natural materials in manufacturing the handles of medical instruments. After Lister discovered the benefits of antiseptics, the death rate dropped to 15 percent.
Development in the discovery of Antiseptics
Although his methods initially met with indifference and hostility, doctors gradually began to support his antiseptic techniques. In 1870 Lister's antiseptic methods were used, by Germany, during the Franco-Prussian war saving many Prussian soldier's lives.
In 1874 Dr. Francis Crayton Sturtevant developed an antiseptic compound initially for treating galls on his horse. The compound contained carbolic acid. Within several months, Dr. Sturtevant had successfully treated over one hundred patients. By 1877, Columbia Healing Powder, now known as Columbia Antiseptic Powder, was a popular national brand, highly recommended by professionals throughout the states.
In Germany, by 1878, Robert Koch demonstrated the usefulness of steam for sterilizing surgical instruments and dressings.
In 1879 Listerine mouthwash was named after him for his work in antisepsis. Also named in his honour is the bacterial genus Listeria, typified by the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes.
Role of Antiseptics in the Improvement of Human Life
