506 GENERAL THERAPEUTIC MEASURES 



and development of the micro-organisms occasioning fermentation^ putre- 

 faction and disease, more especially the micrococci producing suppuration. 



Deodorisers, or deodorants, are agents which destroy or counteract a 

 foul odor. They are not necessarily antiseptics or disinfectants. Con- 

 siderable confusion exists in relation to the terms disinfectant and anti- 

 septicj because the latter is often described as an agent which inhibits 

 the growthj or destroys the life of the micro-organisms of fermentation, 

 putrefaction, and disease. This definition makes antiseptics synonymous 

 with disinfectants. The distinction exists, however, according to common 

 usage, that while disinfectants may, in dilution, act as antiseptics, anti- 

 septics are not often disinfectants, and in the nature of things are not 

 strong enough to kill germs, although they may hinder their growth. 

 Antiseptics may then be regarded as a subdivision of disinfectants. The 

 two terms are unnecessary and misleading, as either might embrace both 

 interference with the growth and destruction of micro-organisms. Dis- 

 infection may fall short of sterilization; i.e., death of all germs. Re- 

 peated boiling of a fluid containing micro-organisms wholly kills them; 

 but, while disinfectants may destroy the germs of disease, they often fail 

 to kill more resistant and harmless organisms, as the spores of B. subtilig. 



A discrimination between disinfectants and antiseptics may be made 

 in relation to their connection with the body. Those agents employed to 

 kill germs, in matter distinct from the living body, are disinfectants; 

 while those agents applied on the surface, or introduced within the body, 

 may be classed as antiseptics, since they can rarely be used in such 

 strength as to kill all micro-organisms without injuring or killing their 

 host. 



DISINFECTANTS AND DISINFECTION. 



Air, sunlight, heat and water are naturally the best disinfectants. 

 Air scatters and dilutes micro-organisms, making them pathologically in- 

 active. There is no more effective way to disinfect a stable, in which 

 animals are living, than by free ventilation with pure air. It is well 

 known that animals are less liable to contract infectious diseases in the 

 comparatively pure air of the country than in closely crowded and ill- 

 ventilated city buildings. Likewise, the contagious diseases of children 

 mostly occur in winter, when they are herded together in schools and in 

 poorly ventilated dwellings. 



To attempt to disinfect the air surrounding a patient is the height of 

 absurdity. The generation of chlorine and sulphurous acid gases for 

 this purpose, although recommended in text books, is futile, and by 

 irritating the respiratory mucous membrane, accomplishes mire harm 

 than good, since a congested surface offers a more suitable field fir bac- 

 terial growth. Air, on the other hand, may be a medium of infection 

 when contaminated with dust containing pathogenic bacteria (B. <t^"''- 

 culosis). Sunlight is prejudicial to the vitality of bacteria. Whereas the 

 bacilli of tuberculosis will live almost indefinitely in dark, damp places, 

 they quickly succumb to sunlight and dry air. Sunlight and pure air 

 are, then, imperative for both the immediate and preventive treatment 

 of germ diseases. Heat is the most powerful agency for disinfection at 



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