70% Ethyl Alcohol as Skin Cleanser for Fungus Cultures

The antifungal effect of 70% ethyl alcohol was reassessed in cultural tests on clinical material from 809 cases of proven or suspected dermatomycosis. Each two sets of Sabouraud's and cycloheximide agars were inoculated; one set, after cleansing of the test site with tap water, the second, after preparation with 70% ethyl alcohol. Cleansing with water for plantings on Sabouraud's agar increased the incidence of contamination by 43% while it decreased the percentage of isolates by 49%. In plantings on cycloheximide agar, replacement of alcohol by water increased the percentage of contamination and isolates by 133% and 17%, respectively. It was concluded that prior treatment of the test site with 70% ethyl alcohol is imperative when Sabouraud's agar is used, but superfluous and disadvantageous for plantings on cycloheximide agar.