Indicator strip
Also called: Chemical indicator and Autoclave indicator tape
A strip, tape or printed patch that changes colour when exposed to the conditions inside a sterilisation cycle, showing that a pouch or load went through the process.
An indicator strip is a chemical check. Its ink is formulated to change colour only when it has been exposed to the steam, temperature and time of a sterilisation cycle. It comes as a strip placed inside a pouch, as tape on the outside, or as a patch printed on the pouch itself. After the cycle, a glance tells you whether that pouch was processed.
Its limits matter too. A changed indicator shows the pouch was exposed to the right conditions; it does not by itself prove that every tool inside is sterile, and an unchanged one means the pouch must not be used. That is why careful operators also keep a log of every cycle, so a fault can be traced, and treat an unchanged indicator as a failed cycle.
When your therapist opens a pouch, look for the changed colour. At Hamd Beauty every autoclave cycle is logged against the kit with its date, time and indicator result, recorded as passed or did not pass, and the Hygiene Passport shows that log.
