Clinical data | |
---|---|
Routes of administration | Topical, intravenous, by mouth |
Drug class | Antiseptics, disinfectants, antidotes |
ATC code | |
Legal status | |
Legal status |
|
Pharmacokinetic data | |
Metabolism | Liver |
Identifiers | |
CAS Number | |
PubChem CID | |
DrugBank | |
ChemSpider | |
UNII |
Alcohols, in various forms, are used medically as an antiseptic, disinfectant, and antidote. [1] Alcohols applied to the skin are used to disinfect skin before a needle stick and before surgery. [2] They may also be used as a hand sanitizer; [2] to clean other areas; [2] and in mouthwashes. [3] [4] [5] Taken by mouth or injected into a vein, ethanol is used to treat methanol or ethylene glycol toxicity when fomepizole is not available. [1]
Side effects of alcohols applied to the skin include skin irritation. [2] Care should be taken with electrocautery, as ethanol is flammable. [1] Types of alcohol used include ethanol, denatured ethanol, 1-propanol, and isopropyl alcohol. [6] [7] Alcohols are effective against a range of microorganisms, though they do not inactivate spores. [7] Concentrations of 60% to 90% work best. [7]
95% ABV ethanol is known as spiritus fortis in medical context.
Ethanol is listed under Antiseptics, and Alcohol based hand rub under Disinfectants, on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. [8]
Applied to the skin, alcohols are used to disinfect skin before a needle stick and before surgery. [2] They may be used both to disinfect the skin of the person and the hands of the healthcare providers. [2] They can also be used to clean other areas, [2] and in mouthwashes. [3]
Both ethanol and isopropyl alcohol are common ingredients in topical antiseptics, including hand sanitizer. [9]
When taken by mouth or injected into a vein ethanol is used to treat methanol or ethylene glycol toxicity [10] when fomepizole is not available. [1]
Ethanol, when used for toxicity, competes with other alcohols for the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme, lessening metabolism into toxic aldehyde and carboxylic acid derivatives, and reducing more serious toxic effect of the glycols to crystallize in the kidneys. [11]
Absolute ethanol is used as a sclerosant in sclerotherapy. Sclerotherapy has been used "in the treatment of simple pleural effusions, vascular malformations, lymphocytes and seromas." [12]
Ethchlorvynol, developed in the 1950s, was used to treat insomnia, but prescriptions for the drug had fallen significantly by 1990, as other hypnotics that were considered safer (i.e., less dangerous in overdose) became much more common. It is no longer prescribed in the United States due to unavailability, but it is still available in some countries and would still be considered legal to possess and use with a valid prescription.
Ablysinol (a brand of 99% ethanol medical alcohol) was sold from $1,300 to $10,000 per 10-pack[ Give volume amount please] in 2020 due to FDA administrator action granting exclusivity when used for treating hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy in the US through 2025, despite "misuse" of the orphan drug act. [13] [14] [15][ unreliable source?]
Vodka was alleged to be an effective homemade hand sanitizer, or an ingredient in one. The company whose brand was alleged to be protective responded to the rumours by citing the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statement that hand sanitizers needed to be at least 60% alcohol to be effective, and stating that their product was only 40% alcohol. [16] [17][ medical citation needed]
Since antiquity, prior to the development of modern agents, alcohol was used as a general anesthetic. [18]
Beer is one of the earliest known ingredients for wound healing. A medical prescription from Mesopotamia describes a method for healing wounds: [19] [20]
Pound together fur-turpentine, pine-turpentine, tamarisk, daisy, flour of inninnu strain; mix in milk and beer in a small copper pan; spread on skin; bind on him, and he shall recover.
Alcohol has been used as an antiseptic as early as 1363, with evidence to support its use becoming available in the late 1800s. [21]
Methylpentynol, discovered 1913, prescribed for the treatment of insomnia, but its use was quickly phased out in response to newer drugs with far more favorable safety profiles. [22] [23] [24] The drug has been replaced by benzodiazepines and is no longer sold anywhere. [25]
Clinical data | |
---|---|
Routes of administration | Topical, intravenous, by mouth |
Drug class | Antiseptics, disinfectants, antidotes |
ATC code | |
Legal status | |
Legal status |
|
Pharmacokinetic data | |
Metabolism | Liver |
Identifiers | |
CAS Number | |
PubChem CID | |
DrugBank | |
ChemSpider | |
UNII |
Alcohols, in various forms, are used medically as an antiseptic, disinfectant, and antidote. [1] Alcohols applied to the skin are used to disinfect skin before a needle stick and before surgery. [2] They may also be used as a hand sanitizer; [2] to clean other areas; [2] and in mouthwashes. [3] [4] [5] Taken by mouth or injected into a vein, ethanol is used to treat methanol or ethylene glycol toxicity when fomepizole is not available. [1]
Side effects of alcohols applied to the skin include skin irritation. [2] Care should be taken with electrocautery, as ethanol is flammable. [1] Types of alcohol used include ethanol, denatured ethanol, 1-propanol, and isopropyl alcohol. [6] [7] Alcohols are effective against a range of microorganisms, though they do not inactivate spores. [7] Concentrations of 60% to 90% work best. [7]
95% ABV ethanol is known as spiritus fortis in medical context.
Ethanol is listed under Antiseptics, and Alcohol based hand rub under Disinfectants, on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. [8]
Applied to the skin, alcohols are used to disinfect skin before a needle stick and before surgery. [2] They may be used both to disinfect the skin of the person and the hands of the healthcare providers. [2] They can also be used to clean other areas, [2] and in mouthwashes. [3]
Both ethanol and isopropyl alcohol are common ingredients in topical antiseptics, including hand sanitizer. [9]
When taken by mouth or injected into a vein ethanol is used to treat methanol or ethylene glycol toxicity [10] when fomepizole is not available. [1]
Ethanol, when used for toxicity, competes with other alcohols for the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme, lessening metabolism into toxic aldehyde and carboxylic acid derivatives, and reducing more serious toxic effect of the glycols to crystallize in the kidneys. [11]
Absolute ethanol is used as a sclerosant in sclerotherapy. Sclerotherapy has been used "in the treatment of simple pleural effusions, vascular malformations, lymphocytes and seromas." [12]
Ethchlorvynol, developed in the 1950s, was used to treat insomnia, but prescriptions for the drug had fallen significantly by 1990, as other hypnotics that were considered safer (i.e., less dangerous in overdose) became much more common. It is no longer prescribed in the United States due to unavailability, but it is still available in some countries and would still be considered legal to possess and use with a valid prescription.
Ablysinol (a brand of 99% ethanol medical alcohol) was sold from $1,300 to $10,000 per 10-pack[ Give volume amount please] in 2020 due to FDA administrator action granting exclusivity when used for treating hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy in the US through 2025, despite "misuse" of the orphan drug act. [13] [14] [15][ unreliable source?]
Vodka was alleged to be an effective homemade hand sanitizer, or an ingredient in one. The company whose brand was alleged to be protective responded to the rumours by citing the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statement that hand sanitizers needed to be at least 60% alcohol to be effective, and stating that their product was only 40% alcohol. [16] [17][ medical citation needed]
Since antiquity, prior to the development of modern agents, alcohol was used as a general anesthetic. [18]
Beer is one of the earliest known ingredients for wound healing. A medical prescription from Mesopotamia describes a method for healing wounds: [19] [20]
Pound together fur-turpentine, pine-turpentine, tamarisk, daisy, flour of inninnu strain; mix in milk and beer in a small copper pan; spread on skin; bind on him, and he shall recover.
Alcohol has been used as an antiseptic as early as 1363, with evidence to support its use becoming available in the late 1800s. [21]
Methylpentynol, discovered 1913, prescribed for the treatment of insomnia, but its use was quickly phased out in response to newer drugs with far more favorable safety profiles. [22] [23] [24] The drug has been replaced by benzodiazepines and is no longer sold anywhere. [25]