Winter Health: Fighting the Flu
Article originally from American Chemistry magazine.
Every fall, millions of Americans rush to be vaccinated against the influenza virus—commonly referred to as "the flu"—in hopes of avoiding the worst winter symptoms, including fever, headache, fatigue, cough, sore throat, runny nose, congestion, and muscle aches.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), getting an annual "flu shot" is the best way to avoid infection. Add to that strategy frequent hand-washing and disinfecting household surfaces, and you can further increase your likelihood of staying healthy this winter.
Chlorine disinfects best
Antibacterial products and the overuse and misuse of antibiotics have induced rapid change in bacteria, making some germs resistant to existing drugs, but fortunately, not resistant to chlorine disinfectants.
Chlorine disinfectants penetrate the slime coatings, cell walls, and resistant shells of microorganisms, destroying bacteria, viruses, and parasites on household surfaces.
You can mix your own solution by adding one quarter of a cup of chlorine bleach to one gallon of cool water. Apply it to frequently touched surfaces. Leave the surface wet for 10 minutes and then rinse it off with water. This solution has a shelf life of around 24 hours. If you do not need that much solution, you can use 4 cups (0.95 L) of water and 1 tbsp (14 mL) of laundry bleach.
A recent study by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) proved a water and bleach mixture is more effective in reducing viral infections than antibacterial products, which work only on bacteria. Bleach destroys both viruses and bacteria.
According to the study’s author, Dr. Elaine Larson, Associate Dean for Research at Columbia University’s School of Nursing in New York, N.Y., households that reported bleach use for laundry experienced approximately one quarter of the rate of infection of households that did not.
Outsmarting the flu virus
Although viruses require live host cells to help them multiply and spread, they can live on inanimate surfaces for two hours or more, giving them a convenient window of opportunity to be picked up by unsuspecting potential host organisms, namely, us. Likely points of infection are commonly touched surfaces, such as doorknobs, desks, countertops, dials, handles, and children’s toys.
Managing viral populations on these surfaces is an effective way to cut down on the spread of the flu. Chlorine bleach is a readily available product that can be used for this task. This winter, outsmart the prevailing flu viruses: get your flu shot, wash your hands frequently, and use a diluted chlorine bleach solution to disinfect surfaces where viruses could be lurking.
Learn more about preventing the flu.