It killed over 99% of viral germs in a study done in the US.
Brushing your teeth and rinsing with mouthwash: this is a habit that can provide you with pearly whites, fresh breath, a successful date, a better-than average first impression, and a barred entry to the Pirates-R-Us club. But a daily dental hygiene routine that involves mouthwash may do more than even that. It could help you ward off another cold, (and maybe even COVID-19).
Mouth and Nose Rinses
A study done at Penn State College of Medicine found that certain oral antiseptics and mouthwashes are made of strong stuff. These solutions have been proven to inactivate human coronaviruses. Researchers tested a number of oral and nasal rinses in a lab setting to see how well they attacked coronaviruses. These were viruses that were similar in structure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
It was found that numerous mouthwashes inactivated more than 99.9% of the virus they were exposed to. This happened in just 30 seconds of rinsing. Impressive!
How long did this miracle last? Researchers didn’t say. It was not recounted how long it would take your mouth to become a cesspool of infection once again after rinsing, if you were infected with a coronavirus prior to doing so. So, the beneficial effects could be brief, admittedly. But the fact that something as simple as mouthwash can potentially do some momentary damage to COVID-19 is very encouraging.
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“People who test positive for COVID-19 and return home to quarantine may possibly transmit the virus to those they live with,” said Craig Meyers, a professor of microbiology and immunology, and one of the study’s lead authors. Mouthwash, he felt, could help cut this risk.
Meyers also pointed out that people working as dentists and front line health care workers are at constant risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Using mouthwash daily is an easy thing to add into your daily routine. Meyers said that if mouthwash can reduce virus transmission by even 50% using it could be a major help to the public as we wait for a COVID-19 vaccine.
A Cure?
Of course, rinsing with mouthwash isn’t going to cure you of COVID-19. Neither is it going to prevent you from spreading your germs around town, entirely. Your body is said to produce about two to four pints of saliva each day. (Yikes!) This is also something you can’t stop. You also obviously cannot stop a respiratory virus from traveling between your nose and your mouth, if you are infected with one. Rinsing regularly with something like Listerine could do you some good, however. If it kills off the germs present in your mouth for a while, it could slow down the rate at which you spread them.
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Mouthwash was first invented back in 1879 by a guy named Dr. Joseph Lawrence. Lawrence named his creation Listerine after Dr. Joseph Lister, an English doctor who had made waves in the medical world. Lister was the first known surgeon to perform operations in a room that was sterilized with antiseptic before he worked. (Usually, surgeons just went ahead and cut into patients without making sure everything was clean. Lovely).
Not surprisingly, Lister’s method resulted in many more patients surviving surgery than ever before. They avoided developing dangerous infections during their procedures.
Yes, killing germs to stay healthy is nothing new. Anyway we can help stay ahead of COVID-19 is worth a shot however, (or a sip), even if it is an old story.
photo credits: goffkein.pro/Shutterstock.com
