Coronavirus

[Misschief]

Plain old soap works best here is the scientific reason we can use to explain to others why we love real soap
hy does soap work so well on the Sars-CoV-2, the coronavirus and indeed most viruses? The short story: because the virus is a self-assembled nanoparticle in which the weakest link is the lipid (fatty) bilayer. Soap dissolves the fat membrane and the virus falls apart like a house of cards and dies – or rather, we should say it becomes inactive as viruses aren’t really alive.

The slightly longer story is that most viruses consist of three key building blocks: ribonucleic acid (RNA), proteins and lipids. A virus-infected cell makes lots of these building blocks, which then spontaneously self-assemble to form the virus. Critically, there are no strong covalent bonds holding these units together, which means you do not necessarily need harsh chemicals to split those units apart. When an infected cell dies, all these new viruses escape and go on to infect other cells. Some end up also in the airways of lungs.

You can’t, for any price, get a drug for the coronavirus – but your grandmother’s bar of soap kills it
When you cough, or especially when you sneeze, tiny droplets from the airways can fly up to 10 metres. The larger ones are thought to be the main coronavirus carriers and they can go at least two metres.

These tiny droplets end on surfaces and often dry out quickly. But the viruses remain active. Human skin is an ideal surface for a virus. It is “organic” and the proteins and fatty acids in the dead cells on the surface interact with the virus.

When you touch, say, a steel surface with a virus particle on it, it will stick to your skin and hence get transferred on to your hands. If you then touch your face, especially your eyes, nostrils or mouth, you can get infected. And it turns out that most people touch their face once every two to five minutes.

Washing the virus off with water alone might work. But water is not good at competing with the strong, glue-like interactions between the skin and the virus. Water isn’t enough.

Soapy water is totally different. Soap contains fat-like substances known as amphiphiles, some of which are structurally very similar to the lipids in the virus membrane. The soap molecules “compete” with the lipids in the virus membrane. This is more or less how soap also removes normal dirt from the skin.

The soap not only loosens the “glue” between the virus and the skin but also the Velcro-like interactions that hold the proteins, lipids and RNA in the virus together.
Pall Thordarson is a professor of chemistry at the University of New South Wales, Sydney

Sorry to sound snarky but how did this answer the quoted question?

 

[bookreader451]

We are lucky in New Zealand - no deaths so far. 283 cases but it going up each day by about 40 - 50. Hopefully with the enforced lockdown we can now stop the spread. My 12 year old son in with his Dad for the next two weeks!! We can FaceTime every night but I wish I could give him a cuddle.

My kids are in NYC and even though I know they are working from home I worry every minute for them. My daughter has been texting pictures of the meals she is making and we had an intense brainstorming session regarding cookie making and the lack of all purpose flour. I convinced her macarons using almond flour was a better idea than hunting for all purpose.

 

[DeeAnna]

Sorry...

That post is this person's first post. I've noticed new people sometimes don't always know how to use the "reply" button, and sometimes things don't turn out quite right while they're figuring things out.

Many of us are feeling stressed, afraid, and grieving. I'm trying to cut everyone a little slack.

 

[Misschief]

That post is this person's first post. I've noticed new people sometimes don't always know how to use the "reply" button, and sometimes things don't turn out quite right while they're figuring things out.

Many of us are feeling stressed, afraid, and grieving. I'm trying to cut everyone a little slack.

That's why I qualified my question... I seriously didn't intend to sound snarky. I was just a little confused by the response.

 

[Arimara]

My kids are in NYC and even though I know they are working from home I worry every minute for them. My daughter has been texting pictures of the meals she is making and we had an intense brainstorming session regarding cookie making and the lack of all purpose flour. I convinced her macarons using almond flour was a better idea than hunting for all purpose.

That reminds me that I need to venture off to the stores to see what they have. I also want to wash a load of clothes. Fun Times.

 

[Quilter99755]

I feel for you. Hubby has a long time before retirement but at times I dread it. He keeps himself busy outside on his days off but he doesn't have any inside hobbies for when he is older.
Even long weekends can be tiring when he is sitting around bored. I finally chased him outside today.
Curious, what part of idaho are you in? I'm in the panhandle not far from Canada.

Just outside of Boise in the burbs. My hubby had a hobby...used to make guitars and mandolins. About 5 years back he got throat cancer and hasn't made any since then. I feel that some of it is that he hasn't worked with his hands for a while...use it or lose it is real at our ages. But some could also be the radiation he was given for the cancer...or something else to do with Agent Orange. At least he does have a workshop outside of the house and I can get him to go out there at least for a while. Hasn't happened since all this virus stuff. I think hobbies are a definite necessity for retirement. I know even with them I get bored...can't imagine what it would be like if I didn't have them.

I think a lot of us need a bit of reassurance at times like this. The Stockmarket is plunging and your government does not come across as having a coordinated message about corona virus. It is frightening and unsettling for a lot of people. Even for us in Oz the mixed messages coming from the US are unsettling.

I know it’s difficult for you to be extra patient with your DH when you must be feeling unsettled too. But I think that might be what he might need right now.

I am trying not to read the news but can’t help myself.

I am being nice to the old guy! LOL It's just nice to have a place to vent that he won't see!

I do the finances in our household so I know watching the news is contributing to the problem. I have this attitude that if I can't do something to prevent a problem then I let it go. He cannot do that and since he doesn't understand the finances it is even more scary to him. And now all of his music events have been cancelled so he doesn't have the community that he normally has. He is way more of an extrovert than me, so now I get to be his "everything". This too shall pass. If the weather keeps warming up he will have the lawn to mow at least! LOL

 

[themadsoaper]

My kids are in NYC and even though I know they are working from home I worry every minute for them. My daughter has been texting pictures of the meals she is making and we had an intense brainstorming session regarding cookie making and the lack of all purpose flour. I convinced her macarons using almond flour was a better idea than hunting for all purpose.

I am praying for your children

 

[StormyK]

I am praying for your children

I'm praying for my own.
Week two of lockdown with a 2.5 year old and his survival is looking more and more questionable...

As an aside, have you guys seen the covid-19 map being maintained by John Hopkins University? Its pretty amazing if you haven't...

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

 

[Kcryss]

As an aside, have you guys seen the covid-19 map being maintained by John Hopkins University? Its pretty amazing if you haven't...

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

That's the one I watch every day ... sad to see that the US has now surpassed China in number of confirmed cases. Watching the numbers in Italy is very sad.

 

[Jeboz]

I can't believe how much my husband swears when he's working!!! F bombs dropping all over the place - even the dog has come huddling under my feet for shelter.

My friend gave me a blow by blow account of one of her husband's business calls yesterday morning from their new office. Same!

 

[Arimara]

That's the one I watch every day ... sad to see that the US has now surpassed China in number of confirmed cases. Watching the numbers in Italy is very sad.

Part of that may have to do with our culture and what not. It didn't really hit home for many Americans until it literally hit home.

 

[Kcryss]

Part of that may have to do with our culture and what not. It didn't really hit home for many Americans until it literally hit home.

Sadly, I agree with you. I've had to explain it to sooo many people it's amazing that they didn't understand the impact of spreading the virus to others.

 

[Arimara]

Sadly, I agree with you. I've had to explain it to sooo many people it's amazing that they didn't understand the impact of spreading the virus to others.

People my age and younger have gotten their butts kicked by the coronavirus apparently. It's not like the chicken pox at all.

 

[bookreader451]

As an aside, have you guys seen the covid-19 map being maintained by John Hopkins University? Its pretty amazing if you haven't...

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Corona has a 4.5% death rate so far using the number from that site. It is probably lower since many are not tested but have the disease. Imagine if 30% of the world's population gets corona, using those numbers that means 94,500,000 dead.

 

[lovdatsoap]

Sorry to sound snarky but how did this answer the quoted question?

Sorry I should have made it more clear
Young folk want what is bew better not what was used by their grandparents
Plain bar soap is seen less and less in the home

Soap makers provide soap as a tool in this fight against the virus -that is over shadowed by other items in advertising world

In this fight against the virus —what ran out first in the stores and online was ..sanitizers and spray Folks forgot about soap in the initial apocalypse buying craze

The chemist said the soap lather actually has an advantages as it can get to crevices that other things might miss

So a soap maker is actually a fighter in this battle not only with soap but education
That is how it directly impacts us
I have been in homes that have no liquid soap except in the kitchen and have sanitizers and paper towels in restrooms because it has a more modern more hygienic public perception

Many of the folks I know under 3o are not about soap first but rely on sanitizer as first

My daughter is all about sanitizer and is very tidy , uses spray and does have some liquid soap
This virus already went through her house Hitting three of the four .Her perception was soap was not as strong
I do not think she could have stopped it as her kids had it first


Luckily she was ok It did kick off her asthma ( and 20 drugstores has no neb refills )w all the coughing but she is on the mend She had all the symptoms :GI symptoms and upper resp issues plus fever 7-9 days and cough remains
Her two young kids only had minimal versions They brought it home from school and had it first Hard for moms of young kids as they have to care for their ill kids
Both her husband and myself reminded her to get extra neb meds when this started but she thought she had outgrown it

 

[Relle]

A Professor/Microbiologist from a University here, said 2 days ago that soap and sanitizer are on par with each other as far as effectiveness is concerned. Hospitals he said have been using sanitizer for 10 -20 yrs because it's easier to have beside the bedside instead of going to the sink all the time.

 

[lovdatsoap]

A Professor/Microbiologist from a University here, said 2 days ago that soap and sanitizer are on par with each other as far as effectiveness is concerned. Hospitals he said have been using sanitizer for 10 -20 yrs because it's easier to have beside the bedside instead of going to the sink all the time.

Yes sanitizer is a good thing
I work in a hospital and the expectation is no more than12-15 x of sanitizer before one uses soap and for certain isolation reasons (like c-diff for example) Sanitizer Is not used -only soap
I do think on a positive note that this will raise hand hygiene and skin hygiene awareness globally hopefully forever
The NY md who posted his famius YouTube of ed for others said hand to face was the most common route
and stated how many times we touch our face without thinking
I think we will never go out again to a public restroom on a trip ,without our backup in our purse after this

 

[msunnerstood]

One interesting thing that has come out of home confinement is that Ive read 3 books in the last 24 hours. I havent read that much since before I had kids.

 

[MarnieSoapien]

One interesting thing that has come out of home confinement is that Ive read 3 books in the last 24 hours. I havent read that much since before I had kids.

WOW!! I recently started a new book and am only halfway done. Of course, I think I would get a lot more reading done if the kiddos weren't so demanding... I mean darn cute!

 

[msunnerstood]

WOW!! I recently started a new book and am only halfway done. Of course, I think I would get a lot more reading done if the kiddos weren't so demanding... I mean darn cute!

My kids are grown and I was off of work this week so besides the dogs being really cute I had a little extra time LOL. I've never been able to just read a few chapters and put the book down and come back to it later I'm kind of an obsessive reader when I get started