During pre-operative patient pre-treatment it is common practice to use chlorhexidine-based antiseptics at 2%-4%. The 2%-4% chlorhexidine antiseptic solution is indicated in cases where decontamination/cleansing of the skin is required in patients with MRSA and multi-drug resistant organisms in prosthetic surgery (orthopaedic, vascular, cardiac, etc.). Its indiscriminate use for all other surgical interventions is useless and even harmful, as it entails an increased risk of developing chlorhexidine resistant strains and in some cases skin irritations that favour the development of surgical infections and skin sensitisation mechanisms in patients.