Move your finger to kill the virus in seconds? Is it an artifact or an IQ tax?
Disinfection "magic lamp" is really not so magical
"One light in hand benefits the whole family", "20-second rapid sterilization", "nano-fine mist, sweeping away thousands of 'bacteria'"... various "fairy" disinfection gadgets such as ultraviolet disinfection lamps, hand-held portable ultraviolet disinfection sticks, blue light spray disinfection guns, etc. The tool is not only popular on Xiaohongshu, but also "planted grass" by platform merchants to use the epidemic traffic.
However, users have different opinions on how effective these disinfection gadgets are.
Some people said that the experience was good, "the quilt smells like the sun after using it up"; some people think it has no effect, just for psychological comfort.
Ultraviolet rays can be used for sterilization, but there are strict requirements on the use environment and conditions, and careless use may cause harm to the human body.
Whether to buy UV-related products for disinfection at home should be more rational.
dazzled
Merchants push wildly during the epidemic
The working principle of ultraviolet disinfection lamp is to use UVC ultraviolet rays (wavelength 200nm-280nm) with bactericidal effect to destroy the molecular structure of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid) of microbial cells, resulting in growth cells and (or ) regenerative cell death, so as to achieve the effect of sterilization.
On an e-commerce platform, search for the keyword "ultraviolet disinfection lamp", and the products that pop up are dazzling.
"Medical-grade disinfection lamp", "hospital-same model", "sterilization rate of 99.99%", "killing without dead ends", etc., often become the biggest selling points of merchants and are prominently displayed.
Children's toys are dirty and many, pet bacteria spread everywhere, mites harbored in cotton fabrics, viruses in the air make the elderly and children with poor resistance easy to get sick, etc. These have also become common reasons for merchants to promote ultraviolet disinfection lamps, inducing consumers: Bacteria are harmless How can you feel at ease without disinfection?
"Are you still troubled by the breeding of bacteria and mites? You need a disinfection lamp." "One lamp for disinfection, the whole family can feel at ease", a certain disinfection lamp merchant said that the disinfection lamp can effectively solve the problems of formaldehyde, bacteria and odor.
Some merchants even advertised nakedly: "Every family needs a disinfection lamp."
When the epidemic is raging, it is easy for businesses to "plant grass" to capture consumers.
"After disinfection, the air smells a bit unpleasant. You need to open the window to let the wind down. The quilt does have the smell of being exposed to the sun, and it smells very reassuring. Especially in the current epidemic situation, you can rest assured about disinfection." A user commented on a certain medical-grade ultraviolet ray The evaluation of the use of disinfection lamps tells the consumer psychology of many people.
The reporter sorted out the disinfection lamps sold on various platforms and found that, depending on the size of the applicable area, whether it contains ozone, the appearance design, etc., the common price ranges from tens of yuan to one or two hundred yuan.
Some products are also designed with more additional functions such as human body induction protection, 30-second delay opening, APP remote control, etc.
very different experience
The effect of various disinfection artifacts is "unclear"
In addition to common ultraviolet disinfection lamps, more portable handheld ultraviolet disinfection sticks are now popular on e-commerce platforms.
Some disinfection sticks are only about 12 centimeters long and less than 3 centimeters wide, only slightly larger than a lighter, and the merchant claims "20 seconds to quickly sterilize".
However, these so-called disinfection "artifacts" have a very different user experience. Some people like them, and some people think they are just paying "IQ tax".
"After using the quilt, it smells like it has been exposed to the sun." Ms. Wang said that she uses a small ultraviolet disinfection lamp, which is used about once a month or two, and every time for 30 to 40 minutes, it can clean the clothes in the closet, The bedding was wiped out again.
Another Ms. Yan also said: "I don't know if there is any effect, but it smells good."
"It's more reassuring to disinfect after going out every day." Ms. Sun has used a portable disinfection lamp for three or four years. Every day when she returns home, she takes clothes, water glasses, and bags to take photos, usually for 15 or 30 minutes.
Not only that, but when she went out to stay in a hotel, she took it out to take a picture before touching the things in the room.
"The advantage is that you don't have to wipe and disinfect all the places every day, especially those curtains, bed sheets or other wooden furniture that are afraid of water that cannot be sprayed with alcohol. The disadvantage is that every time you use it, people have to be separated from the lamp, and you have to clean it after use." Open the window for a while to ventilate."
During the interview, the reporter found that some users of ultraviolet disinfection lamps are somewhat "unsure" about the effect.
"The residual smell in the room is relatively strong, and the disinfection effect cannot be tested." Ms. Luo feels that the use of ultraviolet disinfection lamps may have a greater effect of psychological comfort.
"It doesn't work if you keep it far away, and it doesn't work if you don't shoot it directly." Mr. Qiu believes that the disinfection effect is limited.
Some people even directly said, "It's all IQ tax."
"Everything that comes into the house now has to be sprayed with this." In a product live broadcast room, the merchant is enthusiastically showing a product called Blu-ray Nano Disinfection Spray Gun. The spray is clearly visible under blue light.
In fact, the function of this spray gun is similar to that of a commonly used humidifier, and most consumers often don't know what the "blue light" is for.
Merchants are also ambiguous about this. Some say "blue light lamp head strengthens sterilization", some say "blue light assists antibacterial", and some even confuse it with "ultraviolet disinfection", which is somewhat misleading to consumers.
authoritative response
It is difficult to guarantee the disinfection effect in a short time of 0.3 seconds
The novel coronavirus is sensitive to ultraviolet light and heat.
According to an article previously published by the National Health and Medical Commission’s WeChat public account “Healthy China”, ultraviolet light can kill most bacteria and viruses, including the new coronavirus that everyone is concerned about.
"Ultraviolet disinfection lamp is illuminated, and all bacteria and viruses will be wiped out!" However, regarding the use of ultraviolet disinfection lamps, the article stated: This lamp really can't be illuminated if you want to!
This is not only because ultraviolet disinfection has many strict requirements on the size and distance of use, but also because it will cause side effects on eyes and skin if used carelessly.
"If it is not particularly necessary, it is best not to use ultraviolet disinfection lamps at home, especially in families with children." A professional who has been engaged in laboratory work for a long time and often uses ultraviolet rays for disinfection told reporters.
The article mentioned above stated that if there are no patients at home, it is enough to strengthen the indoor air circulation, and there is no need to deliberately disinfect the air.
The disinfection of the surface of the object can be replaced by wiping with a disinfectant, and it is not necessary to rely entirely on ultraviolet disinfection lamps.
Aiming at related issues such as ultraviolet disinfection and sterilization, the press conference of the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council held recently also gave more authoritative statements.
Shen Jin, a researcher at the Environmental Institute of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, introduced that ultraviolet light is one of the more commonly used physical disinfection methods. Currently, it includes ultraviolet lamps, ultraviolet water sterilizers, ultraviolet air sterilizers, and ultraviolet surface sterilizers. It is mainly suitable for smooth surfaces. Surface, air and water disinfection.
Ultraviolet light has a relatively good bactericidal effect, but its penetrating power is poor, so it needs to be used within the applicable range to ensure the disinfection effect.
In response to the problem of rapid ultraviolet sterilization mentioned by the media, she said that traditional ultraviolet lamps generally take half an hour to disinfect. Of course, there have been some new developments in ultraviolet technology in recent years, and some new technologies can reach Disinfection effect.
However, there is no systematic and authoritative research or report that disinfection can be achieved in 0.3 seconds.
"During on-site disinfection, because the temperature of the environment is different and the degree of pollution is different, if such a short disinfection time is used for disinfection, the disinfection effect is difficult to guarantee." She also reminded that if household equipment with ultraviolet or infrared rays is installed However, health and safety evaluations have not been carried out in accordance with the relevant requirements of disinfection products stipulated by the state. This type of equipment is directly used in the prevention and control of infectious diseases, and there are still relatively large safety hazards.
Consumption Thinking
There are guidelines for preventing "sloppy" scientific disinfection
"Seeing the recommendations on the platform, I feel pretty good. It's not expensive for more than 100 yuan, so I just placed an order." Speaking of the experience of buying ultraviolet disinfection lamps last year, Ms. Li felt somewhat "sloppy".
Considering that the children in the family are still young, she is worried about adverse effects, so the ultraviolet disinfection lamp she bought was shelved after being used once.
"I don't know if it's good or not. I just bought it after reading the introduction." Online shopping is indeed extremely convenient in the Internet age, especially during the epidemic. It is not uncommon to follow the trend and buy disinfection products like this.
But in fact, according to the "Guidelines for Public Preventive Disinfection" issued by the National Health and Medical Commission in May this year, households should focus on daily cleaning, supplemented by preventive disinfection.
In terms of indoor air disinfection, ventilation is the main method, and there is no need for chemical disinfectant spray disinfection.
"After school, the children have to be disinfected from head to toe before entering the door. In the past, not only did the children choke, but the clothes were also wet, and sometimes water stains were left. Now a blue light atomization disinfection gun is used, which is sprayed out after atomization , Not only does it not choke people, but there is no water vapor on the clothes." On social platforms, such "grass planting" of Internet celebrity disinfection products such as atomizing disinfection guns can be seen everywhere.
This is one of the reasons why blue light atomization disinfection guns are so popular.
According to the merchant's description, the Blu-ray Nano Disinfectant Spray Gun is compatible with various disinfectants, such as alcohol or 84 disinfectant, which can be used directly after being diluted and poured into a watering can.
However, whether the disinfectant is used for disinfection in this spray method is still to be considered.
Recently, the "Scientific Disinfection" science popularization released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the choice of disinfectant and disinfection method is equally important.
For example, quaternary ammonium salt disinfectants are usually relatively safe when they are used for wiping and soaking disinfection, but when they are used for spraying, fumigation, and aerosol disinfection, the safety risks brought by inhalation are relatively high.
Another example is alcohol. It is recommended to focus on hand disinfection and disinfection of small items, and the risk of disinfection with alcohol spray is relatively high, so it is not recommended to use alcohol for air disinfection and other large-scale disinfection.
(Beijing Evening News reporter Sun Jie)