Washing the virus off with water alone might work. But water is not good at competing with the strong, glue-like interactions between the skin and the virus. Water isn't enough. Soapy water is totally different. Soap contains fat-like substances known as amphiphiles, some of which are structurally very similar to the lipids in the virus membrane. The soap molecules "compete" with the lipids in the virus membrane. This is more or less how soap also removes normal dirt from the skin. The soap not only loosens the "glue" between the virus and the skin but also the Velcro-like interactions that hold the proteins, lipids and RNA in the virus together.
Soap is essential to kill the virus.
Herbal Remedies
In the article: Therapeutic Justice: The Dual-Trauma of White Privilege, I wrote about my experience, as a 19-year old, attending a Transcendental Meditation Teacher Training Course which started in Valbella, Switzerland and ended in Vittel, France. In Switzerland I was never cold or sick. That was not true in France: There I was always cold and then eventually sick.
The last step of the training was a face-to-face meeting with the Maharishi. During this meeting he made you a teacher. The knowledge given was ancient, individual, and passed down by word-of-mouth, instead of writing. It was essentially a personal conversation.
As my time approached, I came down with a cold. I was coughing, and sneezing and post nasal dripping all over the place. I was deathly afraid of coughing and sneezing all over this holy man or worse, missing my chance to become a teacher because of the cold. I wasn't getting any better so I took some aspirin. Afterwards, I had a terrible stomach-ache and the cold symptoms did not abate. So I went to see our designated French doctor.
When I explained about taking aspirin, he told me that I had probably burnt my stomach lining. He sternly lectured me about the perils of taking aspirin. I was shocked and scared. In 1973 aspirin was one of the things Americans took for a cold. But then he told me not to worry and that he could help. He prescribed something called: Golden Seal. He told me to take two heaping teaspoons in a glass of orange juice every four to six hours. He warned me that it would be very bitter to the taste but that I should drink it all down.
When I drank it I gagged, it tasted so terrible. But I drank it and went to bed. The next morning when I woke up, I had no cold symptoms. My stomach ache was gone. I could not believe it. It seemed like a miracle. I knew nothing of herbs then.
Today, it is known that there are herbs with antiviral and antibacterial properties like: Golden Seal, Echinacea, Ginger, Garlic, Oregano, Elderberry, Olive Leaf, Basil, Sage, Turmeric, and Peppermint. Some of them have been studied and confirmed by scientific research. I am most familiar with Golden Seal, Turmeric, Garlic and Ginger. I have taken these herbs to fight the symptoms and onset of the common cold, which is a form of coronavirus. Turmeric is popular in India. Garlic was a critical ancient world medicine. And Native Americans have widely used Elderberry, Golden Seal and Echinacea. Surely, if soap can kill a virus while on your skin, shouldn't there be natural substances, that can be taken internally, which will aide in battling this virus? Particularly, while we wait over a year for a vaccine?
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