Instrument care in medical foot care
Share
Instrument care
Instruments are an essential part of a practice's equipment. Careful care and professional treatment will ensure that you can enjoy your instruments for many years to come.
All forceps, scissors, scalpels, tweezers and octagonal instruments commonly used in medical foot care are now almost exclusively made of stainless steel (rust-free – stainless steel – Inox).
Many mistakenly believe that stainless steel is an indestructible, long-lasting material. However, stainless steel instruments are exposed to a wide variety of attacks (physical, thermal, and chemical). If not properly cared for, steels are only partially resistant to the attack of chloride ions (aggressive water). Chloride ions can cause pitting corrosion, but also stress cracking (corrosion). Water, which often contains large amounts of dissolved sodium chloride, poses a particular risk. What should I watch out for?
1. Disinfection and cleaning
There is a risk of rust. Please do not subject nickel or chrome instruments to wet disinfection! Although drinking water is of good quality these days, high concentrations of certain substances are possible; these can damage the instruments during wet disinfection and cleaning. Excessive levels of pollutants in the water (sodium chloride) accelerate the formation of pitting corrosion. Therefore, the use of fully demineralized water, i.e., distilled water, is recommended.
Instruments should be disinfected and cleaned as soon as possible after use to prevent contaminants from drying on. Combined disinfectants and cleaning agents must be used. The manufacturer's instructions regarding contact time and concentration must be strictly observed.
Important: After removing the instruments from the wet disinfection, they must be dried carefully.
2. Ultrasonic cleaning
For ultrasonic cleaning, instruments must be stored open on special sieve baskets. The cleaning solution must be changed regularly according to the manufacturer's instructions! Ultrasonically cleaned instruments must then be thoroughly rinsed with clean water, preferably with deionized water (distilled water).
Important: Dry the instruments carefully after rinsing!
3. Care
Maintenance involves the application of lubricants. We recommend using a maintenance spray on all joints and moving parts (for example, pliers and scissors joints). This prevents, for example, metallic abrasion, which can lead to corrosion. In addition to its excellent lubricating properties (synthetic oil does not resinify), the oil also has a water-repellent (displacing) effect if any residual moisture is present.
4. Instruments and hot air sterilizer
Care must be taken to maintain the sterilization temperature of 180°C. Exceeding this temperature may cause softening or discoloration of the instruments. Keep in mind that temperatures in the sterilizer create stress in the steel (heat expands). To avoid stress corrosion cracking, instruments with closures should only be sterilized with the lid open.
When opening the hot-air sterilizer, ensure that the sweating effect (warm inside, cold outside) does not affect the instruments in the form of clouds of steam. Risk of rust! Always allow instruments to cool down thoroughly. Brand-new instruments, unless packaged sterile, must always be thoroughly cleaned and sterilized before first use. The same applies to instruments that have been in the workshop for repair.
5. Corrosion and surface changes
Many people have probably been bothered by discolored, rusted, or stained instruments. Discolored surfaces are often described as rusty. They are particularly common in hard-to-reach areas of instruments, such as scalpel holders with interchangeable blades, behind forceps springs, and in the joints of forceps and scissors. This can be caused by surface contamination or by frequently used cleaning solutions.
Even if instruments are left in disinfectant solutions for extended periods and not rinsed thoroughly, contaminants will burn into the surface during subsequent sterilization and become noticeably discolored. This can lead to rust (pitting) over time.
To prevent surface corrosion, strong acidic and alkaline cleaners should be avoided if possible.
6. Surface damaged instruments
Under no circumstances should stainless steel instruments in perfect condition come into contact with instruments with damaged surfaces (e.g., old cutlery, instruments with peeling nickel or chrome coatings). To prevent the resulting contact corrosion, damaged instruments must be discarded.