Open AccessEffect of chlorhexidine on covid 19 virus
Author(s) -
Himanshu Aeran,
Avantika Tuli,
Supriya Elizabeth Paul
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of oral health dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2395-499X
pISSN - 2395-4914
DOI - 10.18231/j.ijohd.2021.018
Subject(s) - chlorhexidine , saliva , microbiology and biotechnology , covid-19 , transmission (telecommunications) , antimicrobial , virus , virology , medicine , chemistry , biology , dentistry , pathology , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , electrical engineering , engineering
High generation of aerosols, and the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva have suggested oral cavity as a reservoir for COVID-19 transmission. COVID-19 can penetrate the human body. The transmission can occur during coughing, sneezing, talking and even during dental care. SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped virus, characterized by an outer lipid membrane. It has been seen that preprocedural rinses with mouthwash reduces the viral load. Chlorhexidine gluconate has been used in the clinical practice since ages. It is a broad spectrum antimicrobial agent, causing distruction of cellular membranes. It acts against gram positive and gram negative bacteria, aerobes, facultative anaerobes and fungus. It is also seen to be effective against viruses. Therefore, this review focuses on the role of chlorhexidine in COVID-19.