swab

This article deals with the absorbent fiber material, for the part of the same name in the case of carburetors of small engines, see Carburetor / Cold Start Aid - Swab or Primer

A swab (or surgical swab ) is an absorbent pad of fiber that can be used to remove liquids, mostly blood, or impurities during operations.

It is used to wipe off dirt in the septic operating theater, to dab blood and water, to stop bleeding and to apply medication. The use results in the requirements for a swab that must be sterilizable, hypoallergic, inert and absorbent. Swabs have an atraumatic surface and radiological abnormalities. This is achieved by spinning sized cotton threads into a web and then tying or knitting them into a bale. The threads are sized so that they do not lose any fibers, the swab is tied so that it does not lose any threads. The swab is then marked with a metal tape and finally sterilized.

In Germany, swabs are provided with a radiological marker.

literature

• Christian Jassoy, Andreas Schwarzkopf: Hygiene, Infectiology, Microbiology , Thieme Verlagsgruppe , 2013, 376 pages

Web links

• Entry on swab in Flexikon , a Wiki of the DocCheck company
• Patient safety alliance : every swab counts! , Glossary of recommendations for action to prevent foreign bodies from being unintentionally left in the operating theater