Rubbing Alcohol,Isopropyl Alcohol ,Surgical Spirit, Conundrum

[Ravi]

What I could interpret was Rubbing Alcohol is the term used in North America and those countries using it,
hence it is part of USP ( US Pharmacopoeia).
Surgical Spirit which is the comparable preparation in Ireland and the UK hence falls under British Phamacopeia (BP).
Just for info (though unrelated to orchids) if you read any medication you happen to come across the label on has two titles one that used by the company as advertised by it
which gets a suffix in brackets as USP if it is North American origin (which is likely you come across in your part of the world)
Just below that title is the composition of the medication.
If the drug has affiliations to UK the title as advertised by the manufacturer gets a suffix of (BP) , followed by the description of composition of the medication below its title.
Hence, what I could follow was what is rubbing Alcohol in the US works out to be Surgical Spirit in other parts of the world falling under the UK.
As far as relevance of the thread posted I am afraid it does have, if you happen to tune to YouTube on orchids the presenter will keep talking about rubbing Alcohol asepsis of the scissors etc which had to be deciphered as to what it is ,
Point noted no more irrelevant posts from me in future with immediate effect.
Thanks for bearing with me.

---------- Post added at 07:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:37 PM ----------

As far as pharmacopeia- the term concerned you will find the meaning in Wikipedia.
R.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Ravi

As far as relevance of the thread posted I am afraid it does have, if you happen to tune to YouTube on orchids the presenter will keep talking about rubbing Alcohol asepsis of the scissors etc which had to be deciphered as to what it is ,
Point noted no more irrelevant posts from me in future with immediate effect.
Thanks for bearing with me.[COLOR="Silver"]

.

The relevance would have been clear if the question was asked in the context of the video. In fact, the question was about sterilizing one's cutting tools. Most orchid growers I know would express doubt about any strength of alcohol having sufficient effect to be sure of killing viruses. Chlorine bleach over several hours has been recommended. Personally, I use a propane torch - quick, and so hot that nothing organic is going to survive. Rough on the tools, I use inexpensive cutters, and just replace them every 6 months or so. Or single-use razor blades also are good, for smaller cuts.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Roberta is right about alcohol and viruses. Alcohol may be useful against spread of bacteria and fungi.

Against viruses, I also prefer flame or oven heat when practical. Strong oxidizers (sodium hypochlorite bleach, undiluted, or trisodium phosphate at saturation, are examples) will also kill viruses. The bleach is not a good choice for steel instruments that are not stainless steel.