Dr Adam here again, with a suggestion for living in a coronavirus filled world.
TL;DR – I found an easy to buy, non-toxic spray, containing hypochlorous acid (HOCL) FDA approved to KILL coronavirus on surfaces, with minimal smell, is fairly natural and that breaks down to saltwater when it’s spent.
Scroll to bottom for shopping ideas.
My discovery:
I’m getting rather overwhelmed by the constant smell of Clorox, isopropyl alcohol, and other disinfecting agents that are studied to kill coronavirus. Then there is the patchouli/sage/oregano/whatever oily tree flower scent that we’re hoping might slay virus or mask the smell. My nose has had enough! Yours?
This brought back a memory from a prolotherapy (joint repair injection) volunteer medical brigade in Mexico I attended. While there, we used hibiclens and something called Microdacyn, for disinfecting the skin prior to injection procedures.
The main ingredient in Microdacyn is Hypochlorous acid. It’s approved for similar uses in Mexico, Australia, and numerous other countries. In the US, I knew that it was used for veterinary procedures.
So then I fell down the research rabbit hole…
So, HOCL can kill things, but can it kill Coronaviruses?
Yes! According to the EPA – it kills COVID-19 on hard surfaces with 10 minutes of exposure. Further, according to the FDA it can kill MRSA in less than a minute!
How’s the stuff made?
Hypochlorous acid (HOCL) is a pH neutral solution made by zapping electricity through salt water (seriously), that’s shelf stable until it comes in contact with oxygen or organic substances. It’s currently mainly used for both wound cleaning and commercial disinfection (food prep, medical clinic surfaces, cruise ships…). Additionally, your own immune system’s white blood cells make it, as part of their arsenal for killing bacteria.
Looking at the 6 registered Hypochlorous products on the EPA’s “List N” webpage, they all had the same basic formulation:
– 99.9% Water
– A tiny bit of salt (sodium chloride)
– Hypochlorous acid, ranging from 0.017% – 0.046%.
A bit more can be read here and here
How do I plan on using HOCL?
– Cleaning hard surfaces (counters, doors/handles, car)! That’s what it’s directly approved for.
– Spraying non-disposable masks, if I’m not able to launder them.
– Spraying Amazon boxes and their contents upon delivery.
– Cleaning my groceries, including my produce! (It’s listed by the FDA as a “generally regarded as safe” product, with many references for food prep and production).
– Bonus – I’ve already used it to kill fungus that was growing on a house plant!
A couple of notes:
– While hypochlorous acid (HOCl) might sound like Hydrochloric acid (HCl), they’re polar opposite in the chemistry spectrum. HOCL is in an OCuSOFT product that you can squirt in your eyes, HCl is a sister with battery acid (please don’t squirt it in your eyes). Don’t get HOCL confused with sodium hypochlorite either, aka bleach, which also doesn’t go into the eyes.
– Let’s be clear – the only EPA approved use regarding coronavirus is for disinfecting hard surfaces, allowing 10 minutes for it to work. The only approved brands are on EPA’s List N.
Where you can buy HOCL
EPA “List N” Approved, and where to buy
– Danolyte (0.046%) Strongest available.
– Cleansmart/Vetricure (0.017%) Vetricure is googleable, Cleansmart is sold-out, but can be purchased as a CPAP cleaner… .
Non-EPA listed, available on Amazon:
- SkinSmart Wound Therapy 0.018% ~Same manufacturer/product as EPA approved CleanSmart, numerous FDA registrations – this is the one that I’ll be using for organic goods, along with Danolyte for hard surfaces.
- MicrocynAH 0.009%
- OCuSOFT 0.02%
- Puracyn Plus 0.012%
- Vetericyn 0.012% – 0.015%
- I’m also strongly considering buying a device for making it at home. The max setting on this device supposedly makes HOCL 0.02%. I have more research and self-testing to do before I could recommend a machine to buy.
I hope your nose appreciates the relief from the harsh smelling cleaners! Share this information with a friend or family member. This is not a replacement for the hygiene and social distancing recommendations from the CDC and your local authorities.
Have YOU used hypochlorous? I’m quite curious about your experiences!
~Dr Adam
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