Gargling with mouthwash may guard you from COVID-19

The novel coronavirus can be inactivated using commercially available mouthwashes, according to a study which says gargling with these products may reduce the quantities of viral particles in the mouth and throat, and possibly reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission over the short term.

However, the study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, cautions that mouthwashes are not suitable for treating COVID-19 infections or protecting oneself against catching the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

According to the researchers, including those from Ruhr University Bochum in Germany, high quantities of the virus particles, or viral load, can be detected in the oral cavity and throat of some COVID-19 patients. They added that the main route of transmission of the virus likely involves direct contact with respiratory droplets of infected individuals, produced during sneezing, coughing, or talking, and the subsequent contact to nasal, oral or ocular mucosal membranes of healthy individuals. The researchers believe the study's findings might help reduce the risk of this form of transmission, and potentially help develop protocols for dental treatments.

They said the findings “support the idea that oral rinsing might reduce the viral load of saliva and could thus lower the transmission of SARS-CoV2.” “Our findings clearly advocate the evaluation of selected formulations in clinical context to systematically evaluate the decontamination and tissue health of the oral cavity in patients and healthcare workers to potentially prevent virus transmission,” the scientists wrote in the study.