Overview of Betadine: A Brand Name for Povidone-Iodine

Betadine
In every medical show you watch, whether it is Greys Anatomy, Scrubs or House, you may have noticed the mysterious orange substance that is applied to every patient before surgery. I bet you haven’t ever thought about how important this is to hospitals and doctors all over the world.

Betadine is just a brand name for Povidone-iodine. This substance was made in 1955 for a wide variety of medical uses. Here are just a few: Doctors scrub their hands with it before surgery, it is used as eye drops and throat rinses, it is applied on the skin before general surgery and even used in homes for cuts and scrapes. All of these uses have to do with disinfecting the skin, which is what Povidone-iodine does best. Although, the amount of concentrated Povidone-iodine changes depending on the use. For example, in the hand scrub for doctors and nurses it only consists of 7.5 percent Povidone-iodine. On the other hand the solution they apply directly before surgery consists of 10 percent. From the name Povidone-iodine you can already conclude its chemical composition includes iodine. This is true along with a few more elements. These elements are Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Oxygen. Its actual molecular formula is C6H9I2NO. Scientists designed this complex chemical in hopes that they could make a substance that could effectively kill bacteria while not being toxic to the body. The way Povidone-iodine works is actually quite interesting. The iodine works as an oxidizing agent. Oxidizing agents reduce the amount of electrons in an atom making something called an iodine-ion. An iodine-ion is what forms when a molecule is oxidized. It is an electrolyte that disturbs the balance of ions in a cell. This reaction results in the death of bacteria.

This is the molecular structure of Povidone-iodine. The discovery of Povidone-iodine was an extreme medical breakthrough. Before it was designed many people used concentrated iodine to disinfect skin, although this presented many problems to doctors. First of all, it was known to irritate and stain the skin. Another problem was that the iodine reacted badly to various metals. This is not very useful when you are using it to prep for a surgery, considering you will have to open the skin with a metal blade. After scientist tested many solutions and mixtures they discovered a way to utilize the disinfecting power of iodine without being toxic to the skin and thus created Povidone-iodine. Ever since then, it has been used worldwide to protect patients from infections and viruses. Betadine, being the main supplier of this miracle working solution, has made an incredible impact on the outcome of many surgeries. Without it, the spread of virus’ and bacteria between patients would be unstoppable. Open wounds would become infected and cause many people sickness.

Not only does Betadine help fight bacteria, it also does a thing or two to help the environment. Since the company mainly supplies large hospitals, it produces the substance in bulk. This helps conserve energy used in packaging as well as natural resources to make the packages. This has a major impact compared to other disinfectants such as Neosporin. Neosporin makes small individually packaged products, thus consuming a lot of energy and resources in the manufacturing process.
Did you know? Betadine was used to decontaminate the Apollo lunar space module after Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk in 1969. Did you know? Betadine was used to decontaminate the Apollo lunar space module after Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk in 1969. As you can see, Betadine not only protects your body but also has a positive impact on our environment. It was a major medical breakthrough in history and is now used worldwide.