This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on Web of Science (2)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

JOHN E. HARRIS, M.D.; PETER P. ROWELL, M.D.; OLIVE BEAUDREAU, B.S.

AMA Arch Ophthalmol. 1958;60(2):206-214.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

The germicidal properties of iodine are well known. Indeed, it has been used with good results as an antiseptic for many decades. Its merits for this purpose, recently reviewed by Gershenfeld,¹ are numerous. First, it is bactericidal rather than bacteriostatic. Second, such action is rapid and is achieved in comparatively low concentration. Third, unlike most germicides, iodine is essentially equipotent against all bacteria. Fourth, in addition to its bactericidal properties, iodine has well-known activity against spores, fungi, and viruses. Fifth, its tissue toxicity is comparatively low, the toxicity index being less than that of benzalkonium chloride, mercuric chloride, or phenol.¹

In spite of its potency and widespread use as a home remedy, iodine finds only limited application in clinical medicine. Most commonly iodine has been used as a skin disinfectant prior to surgery. There is little doubt of its value for this purpose.^2,3 However, the use of . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Portland, Ore.

From the John E. Weeks Memorial Laboratory and Clinics, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Oregon Medical School.

Footnotes
Supported by a grant from Ruson Laboratories, Inc., Portland, Ore.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?