How to Sterilize Medical Instruments in an Austere Environment

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on knowledge and understanding you might wish to acquire in advance of a disaster in case no higher care is available.  As long as our society is functioning, you should leave anything more substantial than applying a Band-Aid to the professionals.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care. 



Today's focus is on several methods that can be employed to sterilize medical instruments.  And fortunately, you probably already have the equipment to implement at least one of these options.

First off, it's probably best to cover the situations of when we want sterilized equipment.  And basically, that is any time we will be breaking skin or any time where we are going into skin that has already been broken.  Or any time we are inserting anything into the body.  Sutures, tubing, catheters, needles, scalpels, etc.  Fortunately, at the time these are purchased they generally come to us in sterile packages, so we don't have to worry about sterilizing them ourselves.  However, we could find ourselves in some interesting situations down the road with the need to re-use instruments.

The first is in an electric oven.    Two hours at 325 degrees Fahrenheit or 30 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit will sterilize medical instruments.  Wrap the instruments in aluminum foil or place them on a metal tray. 

The second option is a sun oven, which  will sterilize just as well as an electric oven; however, it must be constantly monitored for temperature drops.  If the temperature drops below 325 degrees, the timing must start over.

An open flame is an option, if there is no other choice. The instrument should be held in the flame until it turns red.  And if the handle is also metal, then you'll want a clean cloth to hold it while it's being heated and sterilized.  There's no point in creating a burn victim here.  This method has the disadvantages of the time it takes for the instrument to cool down prior to use, and there is the potential for damaging delicate instruments.

Finally, there is the option most preppers have heard mentioned:  using a pressure cooker or pressure canner.  It works very similar to the autoclaves that hospitals use.  Of course, a pressure cooker or canner is not looked upon as a legally or medically appropriate option.  (So you probably wouldn't want to use it with lawyers or doctors, right?)  Fortunately, however, we shouldn't have to use this knowledge often.  And, just as fortunately, a pressure canner can achieve the requisite temperature for sterilizing equipment.  To be considered sterile, the interior temperature of the canner must reach 250-273 degrees Fahrenheit.  This is achieved at 15 psi, and that pressure must be maintained for at least 30 minutes.

By way of reminder, instruments must be clean before undergoing sterilization.  Any debris, tissue, blood, or whatever on the instrument must be removed; otherwise, it could hinder or completely prevent sterilization. Also, instruments such as clamps and scissors should be in the open position when being cleaned, disinfected, and sterilized.

The next post in this series will address sterilization tape and proper wrapping of medical instruments prior to sterilization.


For further reading:
https://www.sunoven.com/first-aid-sterilizing-medical-instruments/
https://www.doomandbloom.net/sterilizing-instruments-in-austere-settings/
Survival and Austere Medicine, 3rd Edition, p 356.