Antisepsis is the prevention or inhibition of an infection. It achieves this by either killing the organism responsible for the infection, or weakening the organism. As a result, the organism can't cause the infection or survive.
The following are the specific process.
- When the skin is broken by a scratch or burn, microorganisms often begin to grow in the wound.
- Bacteria, viruses, and fungi that may be present on healthy skin can multiply rapidly where the skin is broken.
- Unless something prevents or stops this growth, serious infection can take place.
- Also, organisms may enter the body at the site of an injury and cause illness.
- To prevent this, antiseptics are available to control the infective growth.
In a word, antisepsis destroys or slows the growth of germs or microorganisms that may cause disease. Thus it prevents infection in living tissue.
Keywords: antisepsis_
