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In the midst of the decline of the sixth wave, the headlines about new methods to end the coronavirus continue to dominate the front pages.
The last cry?
Use mouthwashes and mouthwashes to neutralize the bug.
And not just anyone.
Several studies have been published in recent weeks that point to cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC for friends) as the fashionable boy.
Yes, a boy with an ugly name, but I assure you that he has managed to catch on.
What is true in all this?
How does cetylpyridinium chloride work?
Cetylpyridinium chloride is a
safe and effective oral antiseptic widely used for years.
Simplifying, it acts as if it were a detergent.
In the same way that we use soap to wash our hands, because soap dissolves the virus coat, this compound could dissolve the virus coat in the mouth and supposedly reduce the viral load in this cavity.
Old news, new studies
We are not discovering gunpowder.
Since 2020 there has been a lot of talk about the role that the CPC could play in preventing the coronavirus.
Although the reality is that, two years later, no health authority has included it in the package of prevention measures against COVID-19.
Why then has it returned to the fore?
New studies
have recently been published
in which it has been observed that the membrane of the SARS-CoV-2 virus bursts when it comes into contact with certain mouthwashes.
Something predictable taking into account the mechanism of action of the CPC.
The problem is that
these studies have been carried out under laboratory conditions
, many of them with viral particles similar to SARS-CoV-2 (not even with the virus itself).
And, indeed, although everything sounds very good on paper,
we do not know what happens when this is applied in real life
or what the concrete impact is on the transmission of the disease.
Would mouthwashes be useful to prevent or cure?
Neither for one thing nor for the other.
In any case
, they could be useful to stop contagion to third parties
by an infected person by reducing the oral viral load.
Where is the problem?
On the one hand, once you are infected and the coronavirus enters the cells, no matter how much mouthwash you use, you will not be able to stop replication (that is, it does not cure).
On the other hand, if you meet someone infected without a mask, no matter how much you have used the mouthwash, the coronavirus can also enter through your nose or even through your mouth and escape into the mouthwash.
It is not an anticovid shield for prevention.
Nor can we forget that some important details are unknown, such as the exact dose of mouthwash that should be used in real life or the duration of the mouthwash.
Can constantly using the mouthwash be harmful?
We do not know.
In the same way that using hydroalcoholic gel constantly is not good because it can irritate the skin
, we do not know to what extent it is convenient to use continuously, beyond the frequency for usual uses, a mouthwash, a broad-spectrum antimicrobial such as cetylpyridinium chloride.
A mouthwash that carries a virus as well as a bacteria...
or
can even carry good bacteria from the oral microbiota
.
When might it be useful to use cetylpyridinium chloride?
The CPC, of course, can be useful as a complementary measure to the recommendations of the health authorities in some specific situations.
When?
For example,
for that profile of a person who continues to test positive for antigens on the eighth day of infection, but no longer has symptoms
, and by protocol must go to work.
In that case, it could be appropriate to use this type of mouthwash for greater safety.
But beware!
without stopping wearing the mask, or keeping your distance, or respecting the rest of the measures.
It would be a mistake to lead us to think that because someone rinses with these mouthwashes first thing in the morning, they will no longer be contagious.
Another common use of mouthwashes containing different antiseptic compounds would be in oral consultations, prior to examination or intervention by professionals.
And anticovid gum?
The mechanism of action of these chewing gums
is somewhat different from mouthwashes
, although with the same substance.
In this case,
acids are used that lower the pH of the mouth in order to create a hostile environment
for the virus.
And here two things happen:
In the first place, as the manufacturers themselves acknowledge,
these chewing gums are not a medicine
and therefore have not passed the same efficacy tests as medicines.
That is to say:
it cannot be affirmed that they serve to prevent contagion.
Second,
if nature has put a specific pH in the mouth, maybe it's for a reason.
We do not know the effects of maintaining a lower than usual pH in the mouth on a recurring basis.
Perhaps, as we have mentioned before,
our microbiota is not very excited.
Conclusion:
hand washing, mask, distance and ventilation continue to be the measures recommended by the authorities.
If someone thinks that they may be infected and uses a mouthwash as a preventive measure, it may be a good idea, but always in a concrete way, since we do
not know its real effectiveness and what are the effects
it can have on our oral fauna and flora.
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