Use of Heat & Alcohol to Disinfect Medical Tools

Disinfecting reduces, kills or neutralizes microorganisms. Portable health clinics set up to treat minor injuries after a natural disaster are a prime example of the use of disinfecting with alcohol. Alcohol swabs disinfect stethoscopes and speculas used for ear, nose and throat examinations between patients. The use of heat to disinfect medical tools requires special equipment -- most often used in clinics, doctor's offices and hospitals.

Alcohol Solution

• Ohio State University recommends a solution of between 70 and 90 percent alcohol to water. The water solution penetrates surfaces better than plain alcohol. Disinfecting does not necessarily kill all types of spores, but it is useful when heat methods are not available or practical, such as the use of thermometers between patients. It is also useful in isolation situations in which microbial transfer is dangerous to the patient, staff and facility.

Protocol

• Alcohol disinfecting protocol according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for stethoscopes and thermometers requires the use of a 70 percent rubbing alcohol to water solution. It is kept in a covered container and changed once a week. Using a paper towel or clean clothed dipped into the solution, the medical personnel wipes the tool and holds the wet cloth to the tool for 30 seconds. The medical tool is left to air dry. During isolation situations, the cloth or paper towel is discarded in a container marked "hazardous" for special handling. The container markings, though, can vary by institution.

Heat

• Disinfecting with heat is the best solution for medical instruments. There are two types of heat: moist and dry. Physicians use small autoclaves to sterilize instruments they use on a daily basis, such as oral surgeons who use tools in the mouth. The use of boiling water is a heat method, but it fails to eliminate all spores and viruses. The best method for destroying microorganisms is moist heat through an autoclave that achieves 250 Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Flash sterilization is quick and used in the case of a contaminated instrument during surgery. The instrument is put in an open tray and placed in an autoclave at 270 Fahrenheit for three minutes.

Considerations

• Environment can predict the most useful method for disinfecting medical tools. Portable first aid stations may not have an autoclave available for steam sterilization, but might have heating elements available for the boiling method. Alcohol solutions can serve the needs of a physician's office or clinic when instruments are scarce. The goal of either method, alcohol or heat, is to kill microorganisms that can cause infectious disease to spread throughout a facility and among people. Other methods are necessary to ensure adequate sanitation of a facility, such as the universal precautions outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.