Sanitization of equipment and the use of sterile fields are critical in the medical workplace to prevent further spread of disease and also insure successful operations. Humans have evolved intimately with microscopic pathogens that have proved to be health risks. Civilization has brought disadvantages for the health of humanity, new diseases associated with both animal husbandry and agriculture that necessitated the rise of sanitization. Personal sanitization among medical personnel has been achieved through use of products like personal hand sanitizers, disinfectant sanitizing wipes, and other non-toxic disinfectants. There are even testing strips available to show whether an area needs disinfecting. In modern medical practice these days no stone is left unturned insofar as sanitization is concerned. It is an incredibly important part of daily medical life.

For most of the history of man, medicine has been a slowly-written story of partial improvements re the understanding and cure of disease and disorders. Animals have transmitted diseases to man, and up until modern times there have been no effective means of providing proper sanitization. Surgical practices initially started out in the field using whiskey and alcohol as santizers. Triage patients during the Civil War, for example, often died, not because a limb was improperly amputated, but because infection developed. Some practices, such as bloodletting, were absolutely harmful. Improvements in medicine in the Victorian era, for example, revolved around the development of hospitals. Hospitals had many uses: students were taught there, the sick and suffering were treated, and the systematic study of disease could be investigated during the post-mortems in the morgue.

The germ theory of disease was in its infancy. In the 1860s, the great Dr. Joseph Lister pioneered the first truly effective antiseptic techniques, in an effort to stop post-operative sepsis. He used phenol (carbolic acid) to clean the surfaces where he operated, and also the operating instruments. He based his knowledge on Pasteur’s work on bacteria, on the idea that germs were airborne. His results were written up in the Lancet in 1867. Only then did it become possible to perform invasive surgery safely. Explorations into tropical areas often exposed 19th Century Europeans to new diseases as well. In addition, bacteria and parasites were coming under areas of study in connection with exposure to filth, new illnesses borne by native populations, and bad weather conditions. In the 1930s sulphonamides were introduced, which quelled a variety of diseases due to lack of sanitation.

Moving forward in to the 20th century, the World Wars led to a need for greater, safer blood transfusions, new surgical methodology, and new antiseptics were created to meet the need. Sanitization today has evolved into its own science in medicine. Hospitals, physicians, and patients alike must fall under scrutiny for the presence of micro-organisms. Sterilization, the use of chemical sanitizers, and the constant stress on clean environment is a daily part of medical activity today.