Classification of antibacterial/ disinfectant/ antiseptic

[hpfanatic]

Hello,

My question regards the classification of a product as an antibacterial/ disinfectant/ or antiseptic.

I know that disinfectants are used on inanimate surfaces and antiseptics are used on living tissues, however I read somewhere that antiseptics are all disinfectants, although all disinfectants are not antiseptics. Is this true, or was that a bad source?

Does antibacterial include both antiseptics and disinfectants? (Ex. Would both bleach and iodine be considered antibacterials?)

Do antimicrobials include all disinfectants and antiseptics or are they only antibiotics (drugs)? The wikipedia article on them implies that they are only medications. However, a dictionary entry states, "an agent (as heat or radiation or a chemical) that destroys microorganisms that might carry disease [syn: disinfectant]"


Thanks for any answers or links to information you may be able to provide.

Nonie

[deleted-71536]

Hi Nonie,

You seem to have a good grasp of the differences between these words. bleep that is antibacterial (or antimicrobial) kills bacteria (or microbial organisms). As you already understand, antiseptics are used on living tissues, while disinfectants are used on inanimate surfaces. I'm not sure about your source that said all antiseptics are disinfectants, but it makes sense that bleep you can use on living tissue would also be safe to use on inanimate surfaces. The converse is not always true. For example, bleach, a common disinfectant, can be harmful to the skin.

I believe that the words antibacterial and antimicrobial are used interchangeably. Technically, viruses are also microorganisms, and are not bacteria, so antimicrobial is a more inclusive word.

I do not believe that all antimicrobials are antibiotics. My understanding is that antibiotics target bacteria specifically, whereas we often use other medicines to target viruses.

In the end, the problem may be that people use these words interchangeably without really understanding their meanings. To summarize, "antibacterial" means bleep that kills or damages bacteria; "antimicrobial" means bleep that kills or damages all kinds of microorganisms. Antiseptics and disinfectants can fall into either or both of these categories, depending on where they're used.

I hope that helps!
Heather