Can mouthwashes, nasal rinses provide protection against Covid-19?

Team Udayavani, Oct 26, 2020, 3:02 PM IST

Recently, a study from Penn State University has suggested that commonly available oral antiseptics, mouthwashes, and nasal rinses might inactivate human coronaviruses, reducing risk of transmission.

However, researchers are yet to carry out study on the effect of these products in preventing SARS-CoV-2 that causes the novel coronavirus. The study was published in the Journal of Medical Virology.

According to Healthline, While the nasal and oral cavities are major points of entry and transmission for coronaviruses, Meyers and team used a test to replicate how the virus interacted with rinses and mouthwashes.

The virus analyzed was human coronavirus 229e (HCoV-229e) and not the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19. There were also no human participants involved in this research.

The report further states that the study consisted of treating solutions that contained HCoV-229e, which was readily available and genetically similar to SARS-CoV-2.