UVC Disinfection at Appalachian Spring

Since the COVID pandemic in 2020, disinfection and infection control have taken center stage.  During the height of the pandemic, I heard more and more about using UVC as a disinfectant.  In this post, we’ll review what is UVC, how does it work and if there are any negative consequences to using UVC.  As dermatologists we are usually focusing on UVA and UVB.  Let’s give UVC some attention.

UVC Light

UVC officially includes all the wavelengths of light from 100-280nm.  Studies dating back to the 1930s showed that UVC light has maximal effectiveness at 265nm.  Today, UVC is primarily used and achieved using low-pressure mercury vapor that emits 254nm.  In the past few years, newer LED UVC technology has been developed.  However, because LED UVC technology is still very expensive, it is still rarely used. 

Below is a diagram of UVC range from www.UVresources.com

UVC Disinfection in our Office.

After doing the research on UVC a few years ago, I was on a mission.  I always want to offer a premium office facility experience for my patients.  With the focus of safety and disinfection added by the COVID age, UVC lights in my office were on my wish list.  Kudos to my husband Dave who engineered, built, and installed UVC lights in my exam rooms. 

Why, UVC? UVC kills bacteria, yeast, fungus and viruses better than any cleaner can.  Plus, we can easily “treat” the whole room all at once. A dose of 50mJ/cm2 kills 99% of viruses, bacteria, yeast and fungus. We can achieve this dose in approximately 15 minutes with our UVC lights.

UVC light is harmful to the eyes as mentioned above. So, the lights will not be used while patients are in the room.  At this point in time, we use the lights primarily just at the beginning and/or end of the day to sanitize our exam rooms.  However, we sometimes use them between patients when needed.

So, next time you are sitting in an exam room, look up and know we’ve got you covered!

As always, we are committed to providing our patients excellent care in a caring, clean environment!

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