The world may already have had an effective product to help in combating the coronavirus without realizing it. Now, researchers from Penn State College of Medicine have brought this knowledge to the fore in a new study.
The latest research reveals that mouthwash and oral rinses work effectively against coronavirus. The study showed that the virus was destroyed at a rate of 99% just after 30 seconds of gargling. This rate rose to 99.9% if one spent more than 30 seconds gargling. The study did not stop there. It also revealed that gargling a mixture of 1% baby shampoo and water, neti pot, peroxide sore-mouth cleansers will kill these viruses 99% of the time after two minutes.
The study from the Penn State College of Medicine, published in the Journal of Medical Virology, tested various mouth rinses and mouth-sore cleansers to test their efficacy against the virus. The researchers gave the reason why they decided to try multiple dental products in combating the coronavirus, Fox News reports.
“Certain professionals, including dentists and other health-care workers, are at a constant risk of exposure,” said the study author, Craig Meyers. “Clinical trials are needed to determine if these products can reduce the amount of virus COVID-19 positive patients or those with high-risk occupations may spread while talking, coughing, or sneezing. Even if the use of these solutions could reduce transmission by 50%, it would have a major impact.”
Since the nasal and oral cavities are the first port of call for COVID-19 before they reach the lungs and other parts of the body, it was important for scientists to find an effective product to stop this transport.
The researchers did not use the current SARS-CoV-2 strain. Instead, they conducted their experiment with a similar virus that interacted just the same way with the nasal and oral cavities and with mouthwash medicated solutions. Since the novel coronavirus is genetically identical to other human coronaviruses tested, it was easy for the researchers to conclude that the results will prove the same.
Meyers said that while the production of vaccines is still in the works, this discovery of the effectiveness of over-the-counter products in combating the coronavirus will reduce transmissions of the virus for the time being.
Source: foxnews.com
