What Is An Antiseptic?

Antiseptic are basically antimicrobial substances which are applied to living tissues/skin to decrease the likeliness of infection, sepsis or putrefaction. They should generally be differentiated from antibiotics which tear down micro organisms inside the body and from disinfectants, which obliterate micro-organisms placed on non-living objects.

Generally quiet a few antiseptics are true germicides, proficient of tearing down microbes, where as others are simply bacteriostatic which generally stops or slows down their growth. Antibacterials are basically antiseptics which only take action against bacteria.

The extensive beginning of antiseptic surgical techniques followed the circulation of the paper Antiseptic principle of the Practice of Surgery in the year 1867 by Joseph Lister, who was motivated by Louis Pasteur's germ theory of putrefaction. In this publication he supported the use of carbolic acid as a technique of making sure that any germs present were killed.