Disinfecting Wipes for Infection control
The spread of infection has been a well studied phenomenon. Scientist and medical professionals are able to chart the progress of an infection from its point of origin to it latest victim. Despite this advancement, the control of infection remains a major issue for medical professionals and public health departments all over the world.
Disinfecting wipe is the latest tool in infection control and is rapidly gaining popularity because of the efficiency of application and the ease of use for lay users. This is why disinfecting wipe has become the focus of infection control efforts and procedure in home and hospital settings.
The popularity of disinfecting wipe as the latest tool in infection control also depends upon the cost of manufacture and cost of deployment of these wipes. This is an important consideration as costs of manufacture and deployment could easily mount up to become a major strain on infection control efforts. In addition, the continuation of efforts of infection control is dependent on the costs associated with the operational efforts. The cost of tools used is a major factor in this regards and the low cost per unit of disinfecting wipe is a major motivation for their deployment for infection control.
Disinfection versus Sanitization
In selecting a tool for controlling and containing an infection, it is important to understand the mode of operation of the tool. Almost all tools and processes used for infection control wither disinfect or sanitize surfaces. This is an important distinction that sometimes even professional overlook.
Sanitization is the process of reducing the number of disease causing agents (germs and bacteria) from a surface. This renders the number of germs and bacteria within safe limits as determined by public health standards.
Disinfection is the process that actually kills the disease causing agents on the surface. This is the most important qualification of the process and as such, the reason why healthcare professionals prefer it to sanitization.
Sanitization as a process for infection control has its merits and thus is still used as a viable option in many settings. Domestic setting, particularly home is one of the places where sanitization is regularly practiced as a form of infection control. People use antibacterial wet wipes on regular basis for cleaning and sanitization of various surfaces. Baby wipes and hand wipes are among the most popular tools of sanitization that have become commonplace in many homes across the country.
While sanitization works great, its efficiency in infection control is no where near that of disinfection. Hence, the performance of disinfecting wipe is far superior to that of sanitization wipes.
Hospitals are the prime locations where disinfecting wipe have become the most accessible tool for infection control. The quick application and effective outcome of application means that the surfaces remain germ free for an extended period.
Hospital staff must be educated on the proper method of application of disinfecting wipe. These efforts should be augmented by sufficient availability of disinfecting wipes at designated locations.