What Kind Of Disinfectant Should I Choose To Prevent Viral Infections?
When choosing a disinfectant to prevent viral infections, it is important to consider certain properties of the product. It should not be confused with an antibacterial. We will tell you more about it here.
With all the turmoil over the coronavirus issue around the world, many people have gone to pharmacies and supermarkets to purchase gels and other disinfectant products. In fact, the high demand and the shortage have considerably increased the prices of these products. However, are we choosing the right type of disinfectant?
Currently, there are a wide variety of presentations of antibacterial gels on the market that provide an alternative when there is no way to wash your hands with soap and water. However, as the name suggests, their function is to kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Therefore, since Covid-19 is a virus, it is very likely that many are wrong in the choice and use of these products. What is the best option? What should we consider? We will tell you everything in the rest of this article.
What is the right kind of disinfectant for viral infections?
There is more than one type of disinfectant gel on the market. However, after the alert generated in many countries by the spread of Covid-19, responsible for the coronavirus, this product began to run out in almost all of its presentations. Even its selling price reached unusual figures.
The downside is that many people don’t know that not all disinfectants work with viruses. In addition, most gels are antibacterial and are not used to prevent this type of infection. Thus, conventional gels and those which are scented, shiny and the like are classified as ineffective.
What choice should we make? In an interview for the newspaper La Vanguardia Española , pharmacist Mar Sieira, who is also the founder of the skin care company Sarah Becquer, explains that in the case of the coronavirus, the ideal is a product with power. virucidal.
The antibacterial gel repels bacteria or prevents them from growing excessively. Therefore, in the case of viral infections, it should not be an option. To inactivate viruses, such as Covid-19, it is necessary to use gels containing at least 70% alcohol, which have virucidal properties.
In particular, to be effective against viruses, any gel must contain ethanol. This substance, according to Sieira:
How to choose a good disinfectant?
If it is to prevent viral infections, the general recommendation is to take a few minutes to read the product label. It should be noted that in addition to being antibacterial, it is also virucidal. In addition, the manufacturer must comply with the standards imposed by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products.
Virucidal activity can also be verified on the label, in accordance with standard NF EN 14476. If you do not have this information, it is probably a bactericidal disinfectant, but not a virucidal disinfectant. Its fair price varies from 3.5 to 5 euros per 100 ml.
Disinfectants are an option in the absence of soap and water
According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the best method to prevent the spread of infection and reduce the risk of disease is to wash your hands with soap and water. If for some reason this is not possible, one option is to use a hand sanitizer.
However, it should be noted that these products do not kill all types of germs and are not the best option if the hands are noticeably dirty. However, it may be useful to use the correct presentation for each case (bactericidal or viricidal).
Therefore, entities such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continue to work to ensure that over-the-counter hand sanitizers meet quality standards and can be used frequently and safely.
