Antiseptic: When should not use hydrogen peroxide?

1. What is Hydrogen Peroxide? Hydrogen peroxide has the scientific name of Hydrogen peroxide. This is a fairly common antiseptic solution, available in most drugstores across the country. Hydrogen peroxide is used for many purposes such as disinfecting, cleaning wounds and deodorizing. In addition to disinfecting wounds and cleaning ulcers, hydrogen peroxide solution is also combined with other disinfectants to disinfect the skin, hands, and mucous membranes, gargle to deodorize or in the treatment of stomatitis, assist in cleaning the tooth pulp cavity or can use ear drops to remove earwax...
When disinfecting the wound with hydrogen peroxide, we will see a bubbling phenomenon. This is because when in contact with damaged tissue, the hydrogen peroxide solution will release oxygen causing foaming, leading to the removal of tissue debris and pus to help clean the wound. In addition, hydrogen peroxide also has a mild hemostatic effect.

2. When should you not use hydrogen peroxide? Because it has many uses and is easy to buy, we often abuse and use hydrogen peroxide for the wrong purpose. The abuse of hydrogen peroxide can have serious consequences. There are some cases when hydrogen peroxide should not be used to disinfect:
For open wounds: Disinfecting open wounds with hydrogen peroxide can damage healthy skin cells and make the wound last longer. healthier than usual. Therefore, you should not use hydrogen peroxide to disinfect open wounds. In that case, wash the wound with clean water or physiological saline, dry the wound with gauze and apply ointment and a clean bandage to prevent pathogens from entering the wound and causing infection. For wounds that are growing on young skin: Disinfecting wounds that are growing on young skin with hydrogen peroxide is a wrong use. Because the skin is growing young skin is very vulnerable. Hydrogen peroxide has high antiseptic properties and can damage sensitive young skin areas. Therefore, the wounds will be more difficult to heal and may leave scars if you disinfect with hydrogen peroxide. Ear wash: Many people use hydrogen peroxide to make earwax softer and easier to remove. In addition, in the case of purulent otitis media or otitis externa, hydrogen peroxide is often used because the oxygen molecules released will divide the pus mass into small parts, pushing and clearing the pus in the middle ear cavity. outer ear canal. Because of its many good uses and widespread use, hydrogen peroxide has been abused in the treatment of diseases or to remove earwax. Currently, many patients with purulent ear discharge voluntarily buy hydrogen peroxide to wash without going to the doctor. However, this is a dangerous action because if hydrogen peroxide is in contact with the skin of the ear canal for a long time, it can cause burns, leading to narrowing of the ear canal or necrosis of the skin of the ear canal. Gargling for a long time: You should not use hydrogen peroxide to rinse or gargle for a long time, especially for children because they can swallow it. Wash wounds in closed compartments: Closed cavities in the body such as the colon, intestinal tract... are places where you absolutely should not use hydrogen peroxide to disinfect because hydrogen peroxide will release oxygen. This amount of oxygen is stored in closed compartments and cannot escape, causing the risk of gas embolism, proctitis, ulcerative colitis, colon rupture, intestinal necrosis...

3. How to choose the concentration of hydrogen peroxide? You should use hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of 1.5-3% or a gel of 1.5% in case you want to clean wounds and ulcers. Note that concentrated, undiluted hydrogen peroxide should not be applied directly to the wound.
To clean small wounds in the mouth or gums, you can use 1.5% gel. A small amount of gel should be applied to the affected area, let it sit for at least 1 minute, then spit it out immediately and do not swallow.
Hydrogen peroxide is used for many different purposes, from disinfecting wounds to cleaning stains. However, this type of antiseptic solution can cause many unpredictable consequences if users do not understand the use and use it in the wrong way. Therefore, you need to consult your doctor and pharmacist before you want to disinfect with hydrogen peroxide.