Sterilization

Hi, my name is Sara Paisner for synoptic products and ballet. Today, I want to talk to you about the chemistry of sterilization. All electrolysis needles used today are fully sterilized. This is extremely important due to the danger of covid now but also back in the aids crisis in the late 80s. So what does it mean for a needle to be sterilized? There are two primary methods of sterilization for electrolysis today. The first one is ethylene oxide gas, ethylene oxide gas sterilized needles come in a package that looks a little bit like this. There is a white backing with some writing on it, and then usually the front is a plastic bubble. Now you may see packaging like this in your doctor's office or your dentist's office all of those medical equipment that they use with similar packaging is ethylene oxide gas sterilized.

The second type of sterilization was referred to as x-ray or gamma radiation and that's usually in a package like this this kind of a package. It generally has a dot and that dot tells you if the product has been sterilized. You'll see packaging like this in your doctor or dentist office as well and if you see packaging that has the dot generally there's also a paper backing on the back and plastic on the front and that means that it has been gamma radiation sterilized. Note that in both cases while there are toxic components that are used for this, all of them are fully removed prior to shipping products. Rest assured, there are no toxic compounds on the needles when you use them.

For ethylene oxide gas, essentially what the sterilization companies do is they use what's referred to as the overkill method. This is designed to kill one million spores of what's referred to as the most resistant organism, something called bacillus astrophase, in half of the normal cycle time. Meaning that it's extremely effective in killing bacteria for gamma radiation. They determine the amount of radiation, also referred to as the dosage that's necessary to sterilize the product and after both types of sterilization the packaging is flush to remove any residual ethylene oxide gas or gamma radiation. Again, in both cases all the toxic components are fully removed prior to shipping the products so that they're safe to use when you receive them.

If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us! You can find us on our website synopticproducts.com, via our social media at synoptic products, or we always love talking to our friends give us a call at 919-908-0278

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