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How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

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Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#11

Post by FigurativeVoid »

jawns wrote: post #10

This is probably the stupidest question many of you will encounter today, but: If soap has an extraordinary ability to destroy viruses on our skin ... can eating soap give us some of those benefits for viruses that are already in our bodies? I'm not seriously envisioning chowing down on bar soap or using liquid hand soap as a salad dressing. But are there ways to use the _properties_ of soap that make it good for kil…

The bigger issue is not that it would kill viruses, I think that it certainly would.

The bigger issue is that it would cause mass death of good cells as well as prevent proper cell functions.

Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#12

Post by g-b-r »

mholt wrote: post #5

I'm a huge advocate for washing with soap and water, but this gave me pause: > washing your hands with soap and water is one of the most effective ways people can keep from getting sick, and from passing the [COVID-19] virus to others So not to doubt handwashing, but I thought we overwhelmingly determined that COVID-19 doesn't thrive on surfaces (very long) and its primary transmission vector is through the air, from…

Is it really something that needs to be advocated? Is there really someone for which washing hands is less obvious then breathing?

Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#13

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

mholt wrote: post #5

I'm a huge advocate for washing with soap and water, but this gave me pause: > washing your hands with soap and water is one of the most effective ways people can keep from getting sick, and from passing the [COVID-19] virus to others So not to doubt handwashing, but I thought we overwhelmingly determined that COVID-19 doesn't thrive on surfaces (very long) and its primary transmission vector is through the air, from…

I'm guessing, because the article doesn't have a timestamp, that it dates back to the early bits of 2020.

Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#14

Post by Kranar »

jawns wrote: post #10

This is probably the stupidest question many of you will encounter today, but: If soap has an extraordinary ability to destroy viruses on our skin ... can eating soap give us some of those benefits for viruses that are already in our bodies? I'm not seriously envisioning chowing down on bar soap or using liquid hand soap as a salad dressing. But are there ways to use the _properties_ of soap that make it good for kil…

I mean yes, technically soap will destroy viruses that are already in your body absolutely. It will also destroy many other cells and proteins in your body as well since soap is an indiscriminate killer. The end result is that both viruses and normal tissue will end up dying which will damage you or possibly kill you.

Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#15

Post by mvcalder »

ProjectArcturis wrote: post #4

I understand soap molecules having polar and nonpolar ends, so that it can help nonpolar things dissolve in water. What I've never understood is, why doesn't soap clean off pine sap?

If you, like me, often find yourself covered in pine sap. The product: Shout, for removing laundry stains will make quick work of removing sap from skin. Maybe the answer to your chemistry question is in there.

Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#16

Post by NeuroCoder »

jawns wrote: post #10

This is probably the stupidest question many of you will encounter today, but: If soap has an extraordinary ability to destroy viruses on our skin ... can eating soap give us some of those benefits for viruses that are already in our bodies? I'm not seriously envisioning chowing down on bar soap or using liquid hand soap as a salad dressing. But are there ways to use the _properties_ of soap that make it good for kil…

The problem is that it works by simply messing up structural integrity and isn't very specific. Skin is durable and resistant to this but our insides aren't.

Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#18

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

jawns wrote: post #10

This is probably the stupidest question many of you will encounter today, but: If soap has an extraordinary ability to destroy viruses on our skin ... can eating soap give us some of those benefits for viruses that are already in our bodies? I'm not seriously envisioning chowing down on bar soap or using liquid hand soap as a salad dressing. But are there ways to use the _properties_ of soap that make it good for kil…

Your question has been answered, but addressing this bit:

> This is probably the stupidest question many of you will encounter today

We should all be so lucky that a well-intentioned but somewhat naive question is the stupidest thing we read all day.

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