Mouthwash Looks to be Cheap Alternative in COVID-19 Fight

The value of mouthwash in combating COVID-19 – a cheap alternative to expensive treatments.

Mouthwash Prevents Spread of Coronavirus?

As new coronavirus treatments are emerging and vaccines are undergoing development, new cheaper treatment alternatives are being sought after by those without much financial capability. Some price tags for combating COVID-19 are really expensive, including Gilead’s Remdesivir treatment, which costs over $3100 for 1 course and expensive vaccine candidates like SinoPharm’s which carries an expected price tag of $145. Other vaccine candidates, however, are much less expensive, with one of the cheapest being AstraZeneca-Oxford’s vaccine, priced at $4.

It was discovered, however, that mouthwash could help prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as be used as a form of treating the virus. A review of research on the product by professors Valerie O’Donnell and David Thomas from the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff shows that SARS-CoV-2 and other similar viruses are surrounded by a fatty membrane, which can be disrupted by soap and other detergents – hence the recommendation to often wash your hands, or use hand sanitizer.

An abstract from the 2010 International Association of Dental Research’s meeting shows that a 30 second exposure to mouthwash (Cool Mint Listerine) led to >99.99% reduction in a strain of H1N1 Influenza A in tissue culture.

A recent German study also found mouthwashes Listerine, Iso-Betadine and Dequonal to be very effective against three stains of the coronavirus, although questions about the side effects, as well as the effectiveness of products remain unanswered.

Dr. O’Donnell stressed that studies and clinical trials have to be held to see just how effective mouthwash is against SARS-CoV-2. So far, the UCSF and the University of Karachi are planning to conduct studies and research it as an alternative and much less expensive treatment.