Can Mouthwash Save You From Covid Transmission Risk? Here's What Research Study Reveals

Researchers tested eight types of mouthwashes with different ingredients that are available in pharmacies or drugstores in Germany.

A health worker collects a swab sample from a man in a mobile COVID-19 coronavirus testing vehicle in New Delhi on August 10, 2020. (Photo by Prakash SINGH / AFP)

New Delhi: If you are still looking for ways to fight the risk of Covid-19, then here is a new revelation by a team of German scientists who have claimed that Sars-Cov-2 viruses can be "inactivated" using commercially available mouthwashes. Also Read: Coronavirus Update: 53,601 New Cases Recorded, 871 Deaths In A Day | A Look At India's Covid-19 Figures What does the study say? The study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases points out high viral loads can be spotted in the oral cavity and throat of some Covid-19 patients, as per the IANS report. It stated that using mouthwashes which can be effective against Sars-Cov-2 could, help in combating the viral load and likely the risk of Coronavirus transmission over the short term. Researchers tested eight types of mouthwashes with different ingredients that are available in pharmacies or drugstores in Germany. Each mouthwash was mixed with virus particles and an interfering substance, which was intended to recreate the effect of saliva in the mouth. The mixture was then shaken for 30 seconds to simulate the effect of gargling. Then they used Vero E6 cells, which are particularly receptive to Sars-Cov-2, to determine the virus titer (A titer is basically a test in the laboratory measuring the presence and amount of antibodies in blood). In order to assess the efficacy of the mouthwashes, the team also treated the virus suspensions with cell culture medium instead of the mouthwash before adding them to the cell culture. All of the tested preparations reduced the initial virus titer, the study said. The findings showed that three mouthwashes reduced it to such an extent that no virus could be detected after an exposure time of 30 seconds. What is suggested to do? One of the researchers suggested gargling with mouthwash. Researcher Toni Meister from Ruhr-Universitat Bochum in Germany said gargling cannot truly stop the production of viruses in the cells, but could reduce the viral load in the short term where the greatest potential for infection comes from, namely in the oral cavity and throat. "Whether this effect is confirmed in clinical practice and how long it lasts must be investigated in further studies," the researchers wrote.