Abstract
Issues arising in wound healing are very common, and chronic wound infections affect approximately 1.5% of the population. The main substances used in wound washing, cleansing and treatment are antiseptics. Today, there are many compounds with a known antiseptic activity. Older antiseptics (e.g., boric acid, ethacridine lactate, potassium permanganate, hydrogen peroxide, iodoform, iodine and dyes) are not recommended for wound treatment due to a number of disadvantages. According to the newest guidelines of the Polish Society for Wound Treatment and the German Consensus on Wound Antisepsis, only the following antiseptics should be taken into account for wound treatment: octenidine (OCT), polihexanide (PHMB), povidone-iodine (PVP-I), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and nanosilver. This article provides an overview of the five antiseptics mentioned above, their chemical properties, wound applications, side effects and safety.
Highlights
The treatment of wounds, especially chronic wounds, is a major challenge for medical personnel
PVP-I preparations are recommended for sharp, cut and lacerated wounds; they are not recommended for chronic wounds and those presenting with a difficulty in healing due to the low Biocompatibility Index (BI) index (
PVP-I preparations should not be combined with specialist dressings containing silver compounds, which limits their use in the treatment of chronic wounds [28]
Summary
The treatment of wounds, especially chronic wounds, is a major challenge for medical personnel. Comprehensive local treatment is extremely important, including the use of antiseptic preparations, which constitute a key element of the therapeutic process, as well as specialized dressings [3,4]. Doctors did not use gloves and washed their hands after surgery rather than before. Semmelweis ordered all doctors and students leaving the morgue to wash their hands in chlorinated water; shortly thereafter, post-partum mortality fell [6]. Joseph Lister, after reading an article by Louis Pasteur regarding the fermentation of milk under the influence of microorganisms, concluded that a similar phenomenon occurs in infected wounds. He decided to use carbolic acid as an antiseptic [7].
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