Covid-19: What soap does to viruses and bacteria

Germs tend to stick to the oils on our hands, but washing with soap helps to remove them. — TNS

Health experts at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to drive home the message that excellent hand-washing is the most effective way to prevent infectious illnesses such as Covid-19.

Dr Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and director of Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group in the United States, explains what soap does to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, and other viruses and bacteria:

Why is washing your hands with soap and water the best?

Your hand has oils on it, and viruses stick to that oil. They have an electrostatic charge to them.

But soap contains things that decrease surface tension, so when you’re washing with soap, you are physically rubbing by friction and washing away that virus.

It is the most effective thing we know to do.

That’s why surgeons, for example, scrub their hands so very carefully before they go into an operating room. It works, and it works really well.

When washing your hands, follow these steps:

• Wet your hands with clean, running water – either warm or cold.
• Apply soap and lather well.
• Rub your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds.

  Remember to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.

• Rinse well.
• Dry your hands with a clean towel or air-dry them.

What about hand sanitiser?

The second best choice is alcohol-based hand sanitiser.

If you have mucus or dirt on your hands, hand sanitiser cannot penetrate that, whereas soap literally washes that away.

It’s important to use enough hand sanitiser.

A lot of people put a dime-size (about the size of a five sen coin) drop, when they need a quarter to a half-dollar size (about the size of a 20 sen coin to the old one ringgit coin) amount of product.

If you use a hand sanitiser, make sure the product contains at least 60% alcohol.

Follow these steps:

• Apply the gel product to the palm of one hand.

  Check the label to find out the appropriate amount.

• Rub your hands together.
• Rub the gel over all the surfaces of your hands and fingers until your hands are dry. – Mayo Clinic News Network/Tribune News Service