Biggest Enemy Of Coronavirus Is Soap, And Why You Must Keep Washing Your Hands

With COVID-19 spreading across the world like crazy, doctors and medical authorities are strongly urging people to wash their hands with soap for 20 seconds.

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And while cleansing hands with sanitisers is also recommended, washing hands with soap is paramount. But have you wondered why? What really happens to the coronavirus when you wash your hands with soap.

COVID-19 Coronavirus' anatomy

Before we go to understand what soap really does to COVID-19, let¡¯s first understand its structure. I know this sounds like a science class from our school days, but I¡¯ll try to keep things as fun as possible.

Now in this round structure, we all have heard that it has spikes that latch on to our cells. These spikes are made out of proteins. But do you see the red ring -- called the envelope or lipid bilayer-- that¡¯s made out of fat.

Fat is essentially made of oils, so it is ineffective against water, just like you trying to rinse a frying pan with just water. But when you use soap, something changes. But why?

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Soap loves water and fat

Soap molecules are attracted to two things -- water and fat. So when you wet your hands and wash them with soap, it literally dissolves the envelope (which as I mentioned is made from fat), when this happens, it destroys whatever is in the virus, making it ineffective.

But why 20 seconds?

Even though fat envelop doesn¡¯t stand a chance against soap, it needs time to fully dissolve and that timing is 20 seconds. Not a second less. In case you get bored of counting to twenty every day, the first paragraph of Humma Humma (the classic one, not the new crappy remix) or singing Rihanna's chorus to 'Love the Way You Lie' should do the trick.

Be thorough with the wash

People tend to miss out spots while washing hands hastily. From the gaps between the fingers to the edges of your palms, you must wash them all appropriately. According to a study by Michigan State University, the friction between hands also helps in killing microbes.

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What kind of soap should you use?

While there are various kinds of soap available in the market -- you have antiseptic, antibacterial, antimicrobial, all of them work. Even the regular soap we use for bathing works just fine because, in the end, soap molecules are hungry for fats. Just the timing of 20 seconds is key.

Hand sanitisers vs soap

With more COVID-19 cases surfacing in the country, people ran to buy more sanitisers, eventually exhausting all stocks and making shopkeepers very happy. And sure, hand sanitizers do work (60 percent alcohol onwards) well against COVID-19, the effectiveness reduces with the condition your hands are in. CDC has pointed out that dirty or sweaty hands reduce the effectiveness of sanitisers, making soap the gold standard for personal hygiene.