Dear Dr. Toshi,
What's the differences between cleaning, sanitizing (as in hand sanitizer), and disinfecting? What's the difference between disinfectants and antiseptics? What should we use against COVID-19?
Antiseptics and disinfectants both kill microorganisms (germs) such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and tiny parasites like amoeba. An antiseptic is applied to the body, while disinfectants are applied to surfaces like countertops and doorknobs. In a surgical setting, for example, a surgeon will apply an antiseptic to the surgical site on a person's body and use a disinfectant to sterilize the operating table. Sanitizing means lowering the number of germs to a safe level. According to the CDC, cleaning means "the removal of germs, dirt, and impurities from surfaces. Cleaning doesn't kill germs, but by removing them, it lowers their numbers and the risk of spreading infection." Disinfecting means "using chemicals such as disinfectants to kill germs on surfaces. This process does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs, but by killing germs on a surface after cleaning, it can further lower the risk of spreading infection."
In an earlier column I mentioned that the best way to get rid of the COVID-19 virus from your hands is washing your hands with soap and water, but if soap and water aren't available, a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol (such as ethanol, ethyl alcohol, isopropanol, or 2-propanol) should be used, according to the CDC (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
It turns out that all alcohol-based hand sanitizers are not created equal! Some products actually contain very harmful chemicals or contamination. Some of those harmful chemicals include methyl alcohol (methanol or wood alcohol) and 1-propyl alcohol (1-propanol). Do no use any products that contain those chemicals. There's a list of products to avoid in an FDA website that you can check to see if your product is one of them: https://tinyurl.com/y6plsj5x. You can enter the name of a manufacturer or product in a search box and find out if a product you use is on the list. According to the FDA site, there are more than 150 products you should avoid! Also, any statements on products that claim to protect you from viruses or bacteria for a certain period of time, such as 24 hours aren't proven. No consumer hand sanitizers are FDA-approved, so you can't simply believe any claims they make.
What about household products? Since there have been so many cases of COVID-19 here in North Dakota, you may know someone who got COVID-19, so you may have wanted to disinfect your household items and surfaces but didn't know what to use. It's still not clear, but it's thought that the virus that causes COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) can survive on a surface anywhere from several hours to several days. So, the CDC says the best thing to do is to clean visibly dirty surfaces and then disinfect them.
If you or a family member are in self-quarantine at home, the CDC recommends that you "clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces daily in household common areas (e.g. tables, hard-backed chairs, doorknobs, light switches, phones, tablets, touch screens, remote controls, keyboards, handles, desks, toilets, and sinks." If you have a bedroom or bathroom that only the sick person uses , then consider only cleaning those rooms "as needed" to avoid unnecessary contact with the sick person.
There is a helpful list of approved disinfectants that can be found on this website: https://tinyurl.com/y82rl6hf.
Dr. Toshiko ("Toshi") Luckow, MD, is a Family Physician at the West River Health Services Hospital and Clinics.