If you find yourself handling medical instruments on a daily basis or you are required to do it for the first time, it’s important that you know how to sterilize them. Any kind of instrument that is used in the medical field must be highly sterilized before it used on any patient. That’s because a medical instrument that has not been sterilized can still be carrying bacteria and other nasty things that can cause further harm to the patient. Any bacteria that were to enter into a patient’s wound could cause a nasty infection that would lead to serious complications. Keep reading down below to learn more about the top ways that you can sterilize your medical instruments.
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Placing Them in Boiling Water
When you’re thinking about ways to sterilize medical instruments, then you might think soaking them in boiling water for some time would be one of the best ways. And you would be right in that! Even though there are better ways to disinfect medical instruments, this is a good way to get rid of a lot of bacteria if you are in a pinch for time. However, even when you use boiling water, this may not get rid of some types of bacteria spores that can survive at these hot temperatures. Keep reading to learn some even better methods for getting rid of those bacteria.
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A Nice Bleach Soak
If you want a bit more powerful method than just boiling water to clean your medical instruments, then go no further than bleach! Soaking your instruments in a bleach solution for 15 to a maximum of 30 minutes will give you the sterility that you need to operate on your patient. However, make sure not to leave the instruments in for too much longer though, as rusting can easily occur then.
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Soaking in Alcohol
Another option for achieving that sterility would be to soak your instruments in 70% isopropyl alcohol. You should aim for 30 minutes with this kind of solution to get rid of all that bacteria. If you really want to get a sterile syringe, then you can try dipping them in alcohol and then lighting them on fire. While this might sound a bit intensive, this is really going to get rid of any existing bacteria that might be hanging on. However, don’t do this too often as it will cause damage to your instruments in the long-run.
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Think About Potential Chemical Solutions
If you have items that are made out of plastic, then it’s not so good to light them on fire or put them in high heat situations. This would cause some irreparable damage to your instruments. If you want to clean off your plastic medical instruments, then you can easily buy some chemical solutions that are specifically made to disinfect and sterilize your instruments.
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Using an Oven Can Be an Option
Another way to clean off your metal medical instruments is to stick them in an oven and heat them to get rid of that bacteria. This is a good idea if you have an oven at the ready that you can stick them into. You just have to wrap your instruments in aluminum foil before you stick them into the oven at 400 degrees F for around 30 minutes. However, if you want to keep them in there for a longer period of time, you can just halve the temperature and keep the instruments in the oven for around two hours or so.
There you have it! These are all the top ways that you can sterilize your medical instruments and ensure that they’re ready for usage.