Can Mouthwash Protect You Against Covid-19 Coronavirus? What This Study Really Said – Forbes

A study suggested that mouthwashes can inactivate coronaviruses in a laboratory. But what does this ... [+] mean for the Covid-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Theres a difference between a laboratory and your mouth. One of them is a controlled environment. The other is your mouth.

A study published in Journal of Medical Virology showed that in a laboratory, different types of nasal rinses and mouthwashes seemed to inactivate human coronaviruses. For example, a 1% baby shampoo nasal rinse solution appeared to inactivate 99.9% of human coronaviruses after about two minutes. Listerine and Listerinelike products apparently could inactivate similar amounts of virus even faster, after just 30 seconds.

This revelation prompted some reactions on social media such as:

And some additional speculation:

However, before you turn your mouth into a mouthwash jacuzzi with the hopes of ridding your body of the Covid-19 coronavirus, keep in mind several things about the study. First of all, the study tested the solutions on more common types of coronavirus and not the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2). They may have similar structures but are not necessarily exactly the same in all regards. In some ways, comparing the SARS-CoV2 with other coronaviruses can be like comparing a cheese rolling team with a football team. Sure they are both sports teams. Sure they both involve people. But having a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese roll over you is not the same as a 250-plus pound middle linebacker.

Nonetheless, solutions that disrupt the membrane surrounding one type of coronavirus may do so with the membranes around other types. In fact, this isnt the first study to suggest that mouthwashes can affect the SARS-CoV2 membrane. A study published in a June issue of theJournal of Infectious Diseases found that different oral rinses inactivated SARS-CoV-2 in a laboratory, findings that Dr. Judy Stone covered previously for Forbes

Speaking of laboratory, for the Journal of Medical Virology study, the researchers from the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine (Craig Meyers PhD, Janice Milici, Samina Alam, PhD, David Quillen, MD, David Goldenberg, MD, FACS, and Rena Kass, MD) and Brigham Young University (Richard Robison PhD) applied the various nasal rinse and mouthwash solutions to the human coronaviruses in what were basically culture dishes in a laboratory. Now people may have told you that your mouth is a culture dish. But thats because your mouth has lots of different microbes in it. Your mouth isnt actually a glass or plastic culture dish. At least, it shouldnt be. If it is, then see a doctor as soon as possible.

What works in a culture dish in a laboratory may not necessarily apply to your mouth. Your mouth isnt smooth like a real culture dish. Its more like the Grand Canyon with various places for microbes to hide away.

Plus your mouth is not the only place the Covid-19 coronavirus may be. The SARS-CoV2 is considered a respiratory virus and will typically infect cells in your respiratory tract. So unless you are snorting Listerine (which you shouldnt do), it is not going to reach your respiratory tract. By the way, be careful about putting anything besides baked lasagna vapors up your nose. For example, using Neti pots with tap water is a bad idea as I have covered previously for Forbes. So it is highly unlikely that mouthwash or a nasal rinse will be able to rid your body of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Actress Stacy Keibler gargles with mouthwash during an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record ... [+] for the most people using mouthwash simultaneously at Times Square on June 25, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

Mouthwash is not going to allow you to freely kiss someone either. Well, not from a Covid-19 coronavirus standpoint at least. It may not prevent the SARS-CoV2 coming out out of one persons nose and mouth from getting into the other persons nose and mouth. Gargling with mouth wash while kissing is highly impractical, will make very strange motorboat noises, and isnt going to be failsafe either.

Similarly, dont treat mouthwash or nasal rinses as a way to forego social distancing and face mask wearing. If someone tries to get within one Denzel of you (which is within six feet since Denzel Washington is around six feet tall) and tells you, dont worry I used mouthwash, say WTH and back away quickly. You can replace WTH with oh, no you dont too.

Of course, it probably wont hurt to use mouthwash, assuming that you do it properly. For example, dont bathe in it or pour it into your ear. One way mouthwash, baby shampoo, and nasal rinse solutions could be helpful against coronaviruses and maybe the Covid-19 coronavirus is to clean things when using a disinfectant or another cleaning methods is not safe or practical. Examples include your toothbrush, a mouth guard, a set of vampire teeth, or anything that you may put into your mouth, nose, or other opening in your body. Keeping such things virus free can ultimately protect you against the Covid-19 coronavirus.

So the results from this study do have some practical applications. Nonetheless, unless you happen to be a gigantic toothbrush, do not expect mouthwash, baby shampoo, or nasal wash solutions to rid 99.9% of the Covid-19 coronavirus from you. Remember just because something happens in a lab doesnt mean that it will work in all aspects real life. Lots of things can inactivate or kill viruses and other pathogens in the lab but either dont work or are impractical on or in human beings. Take disinfectants such as Lysol for example. They may kill the Covid-19 coronavirus on a table or a Justin Bieber shrine for example. But no one in his or her right mind should recommend that Lysol be ingested or injected into the body, right?

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Can Mouthwash Protect You Against Covid-19 Coronavirus? What This Study Really Said - Forbes