22 WOUND TREATMENT 



of carbo-campho will give as much disinfecting- efficiency 

 as a dollar's worth of phenol. Likewise, about seven 

 cents' worth of crude carbolic acid will give as much 

 disinfecting power as a dollar's worth of pure phenol. 

 . Such figures as these are of value in determining the 

 most economical disinfectant to buy, based upon effi- 

 ciency and the price of phenol. 



Naturally these figures will vary as the price of phenol 

 and other disinfectants varies, so that a calculation must 

 be made to fit market conditions as they exist. What 

 may be the cheapest antiseptic to buy to-day may not be 

 a month or a year hence. The following table gives fig- 

 ures for a number of antiseptics based upon prices to- 

 day: 



Relative cost 



per 100 units 



Efficiency of Efficiency 



Disinfectant Ratio or Comlpared 



Price per Cost Ptienol witti pui'e 



Gallon Ratio Coefficient carbolic acid 



Crude carbolic acid^ 60 .1846 2.65 6.9 



Hygeno 95 .292 3.50 8.34 



Kresco (P. D. & Co.) 1.15 .353 3.92 9.00 



Zenoleum 1.25 .384 2.25 17.00 



Liquor cresolis compositus. . 2.50 .769 3.00 25.6 



Trikresol 4.00 1.23 2.62 47.3 



Creolin 6.66 2.04 3.25 62.7 



Lysol 5.00 1.52 2.12 71.84 



Carbo-campho^ 2.50 .76 .57 133.3 



Carbolic acid 3.25 1.00 1.00 100.0 



In this paper we have endeavored to bring out the fol- 

 lowing facts: 



1. That the fundamental principles of disinfection are 

 based upon bacteriological facts and not upon physical 

 appearance or odors of the disinfectant. 



2. That the action of antiseptics is affected by 



'Piienol coefficient determined at Veterinary Science T^abor- 

 atory, College of Agriculture, Madison, Wis. 



2For phenol coefficient of other disinfectants in this table, the 

 writers are indebted to Bulletin 82, Public Health and Marine 

 Hospital Service. 



