Disinfecting your toothbrush can protect you from COVID
Yes, your toothbrush can spread the imevirus
The availability of a COVID-19 vaccine has indeed brought some respite, but the threat of contagion still lingers. The number of positive cases is soaring across the globe among those yet to be vaccinated. This makes it even more important to keep oneself protected. One thing that we know quite well about the coronavirus is that it is highly contagious and can easily spread in a multitude of ways, which means you should be taking every measure you can to protect yourself from infection. Findings of a recent study revealed that apart from your regular safety measure, following a particular hygiene habit could also protect you from COVID-19: disinfecting your toothbrush.
Let's understand here how your toothbrush can spread the virus - Imagine you are an asymptomatic carrier and you use the same place to store your toothbrush as your family. The possibility of your toothbrush spreading COVID to your family gets extremely high in such a scenario.
2. How disinfecting your toothbrush can protect you from COVID
By
far we know that covering the mouth while coughing or sneezing,
maintaining six feet distance and cleaning hands regularly can cut down
the risk of infection. But as per a finding of Brazilian researchers,
disinfecting your toothbrush can be a new way to stay safe.
In the study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, the researchers pointed out that our toothbrush can "act as reservoirs for microorganisms", which can easily transmit disease from a sick to a healthy person. This revelation is quite startling, especially in the COVID era because it has already been established that a high viral load of virus can be found in the saliva, nasopharynx, and oropharynx.
This makes it important to disinfect the toothbrushes and maintain oral hygiene to control the transmission of the virus, especially in asymptomatic cases or those who await the test result for COVID-19.
3. Another study supporting this claim
This
is not the first study that has pointed out that the saliva exchange
can lead to the transmission of the virus. As per a study published in
July 2020 in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, some mouthwash can
reduce the viral load of the COVID strains in the saliva. The researches
of this study stated that using an antiseptic solution containing
ethanol and essential oils, like Listerine Cool Mint can be quite
helpful in reducing the number of COVID viruses in the saliva.
4. How to disinfect your toothbrush
The
Brazilian researchers concluded that to disinfect the toothbrush, it is
important to immerse it in mouthwash for 20 minutes. However, in the
previous study, it was pointed out that one only needs to swish with the
solution for 30 seconds to reduce the viral load present in the mouth.
In the case of toothbrushes, the timing is higher due to the presence of
bristles and moisture.
5. The six-step rule to disinfect your toothbrush
Just dipping your toothbrush in the solution is not enough to cut down the risk of infection. To ensure complete protection, the researchers laid out six steps to complete the hygiene task.
Step 1: Wash your hands with water and soap or disinfect them with hand sanitiser that contains at least 70 per cent alcohol.
Step 2: After this disinfect your toothbrush handle with 70 per cent alcohol for one minute.
Step 3: Brush your teeth.
Step 4: When you are done cleaning your teeth, wash the brush and disinfect the handle with 70 per cent alcohol again for a minute.
Step 5: Immerse the head of your brush in ethanol and essential oil-based mouthwash solution and leave it for 20 minutes.
Step 6: Let your brush dry and then store it away from others.
6. Who should disinfect their brush?
Disinfecting the brush is particularly important for people living together in a house and sharing a common bathroom. Transmission of the virus among the living under the same roof is quite high. So, if you are waiting for your test results, disinfect your toothbrush and keep it separate to ensure the safety of others.