PRACTICAL DISINFECTION 253 



patient should be wiped with a cloth dipped in 2 per cent, carbolic 

 acid or cresol solution, then with water to remove the disinfectant. 

 The cloths should be either placed at once in briskly boiling water, or 

 in the bedpan, and treated with the feces. 



Fomites. Soiled linen, clothing and bedding should be immersed 

 in a liberal amount of 2 or 3 per cent, carbolic acid solution and left 

 at least two hours. An exposure of fifteen minutes in briskly boiling 

 water, provided a considerable volume is used, is also sufficient to 

 disinfect soiled fomites. 



Bath Water. The water in which patients suffering from intestinal 

 infections have bathed should be disinfected before it is discharged 

 into a drain. An ounce of chlorinated lime thoroughly mixed with 

 the bath water will disinfect it within an hour. The sides of the bath- 

 tub above the level of the water must be disinfected as well as the 

 water itself. 



Skin and Hands. Infection of the skin and hands, both of the 

 patient and attendants, is frequently unavoidable in intestinal diseases. 

 A vigorous application of a scrubbing brush and green soap and a 

 thorough cleansing of the nails frequently suffices for the hands. An 

 application of 2 to 3 per cent, carbolic acid, or 1 to 1000 bichloride of 

 mercury for several minutes will remove all danger of infection. 



Sterilization of the hands for surgical operations is still a subject 

 of debate; there is little uniformity in the methods advocated by 

 leading surgeons. Wearing sterilized rubber gloves during operations 

 is a common practice. 



Instruments. The preparation of instruments for surgical use, 

 often erroneously called " sterilization," must be sharply distinguished 

 from true sterilization in the bacteriological sense. Simple boiling of 

 surgical appliances in soda solution does not necessarily render them 

 free from bacterial spores, although the method is efficient for surgical 

 technic because the residual bacteria which may survive this treatment 

 do not germinate in the tissues. It is frequently deemed sufficient to 

 boil syringes and other appliances used for removing blood or other 

 material for bacteriological study; the only trustworthy method for 

 this purpose is the autoclave or the hot-air sterilizer, depending upon 

 the nature of the appliance. 



The use of carbolic acid is not recommended for bacteriological 

 syringes and other apparatus used in collecting material for bacterio- 

 logical examination; it is difficult to remove the last traces of the disin- 

 fectant without contaminating the instrument itself. 



