Benefits of Washing Hands With Soap in Preventing Coronavirus

As we know that Covid-19 cases in the United states are growing on day by day, it has become more important for each one of us to wash our hands properly using soap and water so as to prevent coronavirus. Now, is it really true that there are any benefits of using soap for preventing coronavirus? Well, let us take a further read on the following array of the article and know more about the benefits of soap in preventing coronavirus.

Benefits of Washing Hands With Soap in Preventing Coronavirus:

Washing hands properly with soap will help in preventing coronavirus. This is because when we are washing our hands using soap and water, we are not just wiping viruses off our hands and sending in the drain, but we are actually annihilating the viruses, thus rendering them harmless. Any soap would be actually helpful in this.

Respiratory viruses, such as the novel coronavirus, common cold and flu get spread through our hands. It means, we can pick up droplets containing the virus and they will remain on hands and also enter the body if we start touching our faces with the hands.

That is the reason why the CDC or The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention has recommended us to wash our hands using soap and water to clean our hands. However, in case soap or water is not available, you can make use of a hand sanitizer with at least 60% of alcohol.⁽¹⁾ But it is always good to wash your hands with soap and water if available.

Coming to the new coronavirus, we can say that the virus is encased in a layer of fat, or a lipid envelop; which can be broken down using a soap and thus making you less likely to get infected with the virus. You can use bar soap or a liquid soap and they both are equally effective. However, keep a note that bar soap must not be taken outside your home.

We will take a deeper look on this in the following sections.

How Does Using Soap Destroys The Coronavirus?

Soap is also called as “Amphiphiles”. These amphiphiles are the molecules that have got a dual nature. It means, one of the end of these molecules is attracted to water and repelled by proteins and fats; while the other end of the molecules is attracted to fats and repelled by water. This, dual-nature chemical construction is what makes soap so much effective.

Think what actually happens when you pour olive oil into water? Isn’t it that the oil pools up in a mass that really floats in water? Well, why does this happen? This is because fats do not mix along with water. However, if you mix some soap into the oil and water and the olive oil will disperse. This basically happens because the soap attracts the grease, via its fat-loving end; but then tears it up, thus pulling it in to the water through its water-loving end.

Now, the same thing goes when we wash our hands with soap to prevent coronavirus. These coronaviruses are much like the oil as we mentioned above; bits of genetic information that are encoded by the RNA- surrounded by a coat of protein and fat. Thus, soap loves to annihilate these viruses. Here, with the soap and water, you literally pull the virus apart, make it soluble in water, and it disintegrates.

By now, we are at least a bit known to the fact soap helps to prevent coronavirus. Soap actually breaks down pathogens. These coronaviruses are the pathogens which are encashed in a lipid envelop or in a layer of fat. Soap helps in destroying that fat layer and thus making the virus less able in infecting you.

This trick here is to take at least 20 seconds to wash your hands well with soap and clean running water to prevent yourself from coronavirus and also other viruses and bacteria that might be a bit tougher than coronaviruses and harder to disintegrate.

How To Wash Your Hands With Soap To Prevent Coronavirus?

It is quite simple to wash your hands with soap to prevent coronavirus. However; there are several studies that show that people usually tend not to wash their hands, or tend to not wash them for the requisite 20 seconds.

A recent study done in the year 2019, Survey done among 24,000 Americans has found that 40% of the participants do not always wash their hands using soap after using bathroom.⁽²⁾

As per the CDC, it does not matter if you are using hot water or cold; and there is actually no added benefit of using antibacterial soap.⁽³⁾

Using soap for washing hands is more effective as compared to use only water for washing hands, as the surfactants in soap lift microbes and soil from skin, and people tend to scrub their hands more thoroughly when they are using soap; which further helps in removing germs.

In order to wash your hands, apply soap on your hands and scrub them for 20 seconds or more. Be very much sure to focus on places where usually people forget to clean; such as the back of your hands, in between your fingers, and also under your nails; where usually microbes quite easily tend to build up. Then rinse under clean cool running water and dry your hands using a clean towel, as germs get transferred easily to and from wet hands.

Conclusion:

Now that we are known to the benefits of soap in preventing coronavirus, it’s the right time that you start practicing this good habit of washing your hands with soap so as to prevent coronavirus. Do not stock your shelves with hand sanitizer, rather have a stock of soap and make a habit of washing your hands for at least 20 seconds properly.

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Benefits of Washing Hands With Soap in Preventing Coronavirus