My experience from younger family members is that they are suspicious of an old-fashioned bar of soap. They think anything that comes out of a bottle in a slurp is better. They are wrong.
Here are the scientific facts, which have not been very well explained by government or media:
1. Soap is more effective against viruses that alcohol
2. Alcohol is more effective against bacteria
Bacteria are living organisms. They are like amoebas. They lock onto cells and fuse with them and then transfer DNA into the cell to reproduce, pretty much the same way spermatozoa fuse with eggs to make an embryo. Alcohol is a poison, and kills them.
Viruses are not alive in the same way at all. They are, in the case of corona viruses, hollow spheres of lipid (fat) enclosing RNA, the more primitive precursor of DNA. They only have one purpose – to reproduce. They lock onto a cell using their spikes and inject the RNA into the cell. The cell then becomes a factory to make them in vast numbers.
Because viruses are not “alive” you can’t kill them; but you can destroy them. To do this you must break their outer walls the way a siege engine breaks a castle wall. Alcohol can do this, but slowly compared to soap.
Soap loves two things: water and fat. You can keep a bar of soap in a dry cupboard for years. But wet it, and it will develop a soft surface. Leave it in a dish of water and it will turn into gloop. When you wash your hands with soapy water it makes the skin slippery. Because soap also likes fat, if it encounters any, such as the fatty remains of the lamb chop you picked, up it will bind with it, loosen its grip on the skin, and it will slide off in running water. The same applies to corona viruses: the soap starts to dissolve the lipid walls, which are punctured, like putting acid on a football. The virus bursts, spills its payload of RNA and is flushed off the skin.
Getting it off the skin requires some friction to help the virus to unstick. That’s why, as the actress said to the bishop, it’s important to rub if you want to get it off. The same applies to alcohol, but it’s not as efficient and takes longer.
Whomsoever of our ancestors discovered that mixing and heating sodium hydroxide, water and animal fat to make soap deserves a great big memorial. Soap has saved countless lives, and can help to save ours now.
Topic: Soap or sanitiser? (Read 4193 times)