The state of being free from disease-causing agents is defined as the asepsis. Asepsis can be broadly divided into two main categories known as medical asepsis and surgical asepsis. The key difference between medical asepsis and surgical asepsis lies in the way they are defined. Medical asepsis is the reduction of the number of disease-causing agents and their spread. On the other hand, the complete elimination of the disease-causing agents and their spores from the surface of an object is called the surgical asepsis.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Medical Asepsis
3. What is Surgical Asepsis
4. Similarities Between Medical and Surgical Asepsis
5. Side by Side Comparison – Medical vs Surgical Asepsis in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is Medical Asepsis?
Medical asepsis is the reduction of the number of disease-causing agents and their spread.
Methods of Medical Asepsis
- Isolation of the patient
- Hand washing
Hand washing is an important aspect of the medical asepsis. If you are a healthcare professional it is good to keep your nails short and always make sure that breaches of the skin are properly covered. Wash the hands in running water with soap.
Figure 01: Hand Washing
- Preventive vaccination
- Increasing the awareness among visitors and relatives
- Use of gloves, masks, and gowns
- Use of chemical agents
What is Surgical Asepsis?
The complete elimination of the disease-causing agents and their spores from the surface of an object is called surgical asepsis.
Surgical asepsis is a more complex process than its counterpart. The proper maintenance and preparation of the environment, surgical equipment, personnel involved in the procedure as well as the adequate cleaning of the surgical site are very vital factors to be taken care of when surgical asepsis is carried out.
Figure 02: Surgical Instruments
During the procedure, all the participants are required to follow a set of precautionary steps in order to prevent the contamination of the sterile environment. One of the easiest and probably the most important step is to minimize the number of personnel taking part in the procedure and keeping the conversations at a minimum as much as possible. At the same time movements inside the theater also should be reduced. Use of non-perforating devices is encouraged. Since both scrubbed and non-scrubbed staffs are attending the procedure, non-scrubbed staff should maintain a fair distance away from the scrubbed staff.
What are the Similarities Between Surgical and Medical Asepsis?
- Both surgical and medical asepsis are followed in order to minimize the risk of the patient getting an infection as result of any surgical or medical intervention.
What is the Difference Between Surgical and Medical Asepsis?
Surgical vs Medical Asepsis |
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| Medical asepsis is the reduction of the number of disease-causing agents and their spread. | Surgical asepsis is the complete elimination of the disease-causing agents and their spores from the surface of an object. |
| Techniques | |
| The techniques used in the process are called clean techniques. | In surgical asepsis, sterile techniques are used. |
| Occasions | |
| This procedure is carried out in the administration of enemas, medications, tube feedings, etc. | Sterile techniques are followed in changing dressings of a wound, catheterization, and surgeries. |
Summary – Surgical vs Medical Asepsis
As clear from this article, both surgical and medical asepsis minimize the risk of infections. The difference between surgical and medical asepsis depends on the extent to which disease-causing agents are controlled. Following the standard procedures in any kind of a surgical or medical intervention is extremely important because it prevents the transmission of pathogens from the environment into the patient’s body.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Handwashing” by Linda Hartley (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2. “81489” (Public Domain) via Pixabay