Virucidal disinfectants

What does virucidal mean?

The term “virucidal” means “effective against viruses”. Products labeled as virucidal therefore render viruses harmless. A synonym for “virucidal” is “antivirulent”. There is a clear difference to the mode of action “bactericidal” or “antibacterial”, because this type of disinfectant is not effective against either enveloped or non-enveloped viruses.

Disinfectant ingredients

What ingredients are used in virucidal disinfectants in the first place? Here you will find an overview.

Alcohol

Ethanol and isopropanol are the alcohols preferred as active ingredients in hand disinfectants. A disinfectant with an alcohol content of 70 percent or more is highly effective against viruses.

Glycerol

Not every disinfectant contains glycerol or glycerin, but this ingredient is especially useful for disinfectants for your hands, as it is a fantastic moisturizer.

Surfactants

Oil and water do not mix? With the help of surfactants, yes. This is because these reduce the surface tension.

Essential oils

Why shouldn’t a virucidal disinfectant also smell good? Essential oils not only provide a good smell, but can also be soothing, antibacterial and prevent skin irritation.

How can virucidal disinfectants be recognized?

If you want to buy virucidal disinfectant, there is a wide range of products available in the drugstore. How is one supposed to get through this wide range of products? These are the things you can look for when buying disinfectant:

1. Look at the packaging. If it says something like “virucidal”, “limited virucidal”, “limited virucidal PLUS” or “antivirulent”, the disinfectant is effective against many viruses, but not all. However, you can use it to protect yourself well against the novel coronavirus.
2. The alcohol content should be 70 percent or even higher.
3. Pay attention to the smell. It should be as clinical and clean as possible. Smell of alcohol is a good sign in this case.

Disinfection spectrum of action

So what does “limited virucidal” or “fungicidal” mean? We have compiled an overview of the different target organisms and modes of action for you.

Bactericidal

Killing bacteria of any kind – that is the definition of the word bactericidal. The alternative term is antibacterial. Both designations can be found on disinfectant bottles.

Fungicide

A fungicidal disinfectant kills fungi, as well as their spores, so they cannot spread.

Limited virucidal

A limited virucidal can destroy enveloped viruses but not non-enveloped ones. In enveloped viruses, the nucleus is protected by a lipid membrane.

Virucidal

Whether enveloped or non-enveloped virus, a virucidal disinfectant gets them all. It kills enveloped viruses such as corona or influenza viruses, as well as non-enveloped viruses such as adenoviruses, enteroviruses and hepatitis A.

Disinfectant virucidal against Corona?

To kill any coronaviruses on the hands requires just a limited virucidal disinfectant, since the novel SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped virus. SARS stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome. And the disease it causes is called covid-19. The virus is transmitted by droplet infection, and these droplets are primarily produced by coughing and sneezing. Only gradually do they sink to the bottom and are then harmless. As long as they are suspended in the air, they can be inhaled and cause damage in another organism. Alternatively, the pathogen can enter the organism via the mucous membranes, for example, if you touch your face with your hands or rub your eyes. It becomes dangerous when the virus cells spread to the lower respiratory tract and cause pneumonia, in which the affected areas swell, mucus forms and fluid collects, which can result in shortness of breath and lack of oxygen. Therefore, virucidal or even limited virucidal disinfectant is the simplest and most effective means – besides mouth-nose protection – to protect against infection with Corona.

Virucidal hand disinfectant where to buy?

Basically, you can buy virucidal disinfectant both in pharmacies and drugstores. You can also get advice at the pharmacy, which is of course advisable for allergy sufferers. And of course you can find suitable products for your hygiene online. Basically, we recommend that you study the list of ingredients well and compare prices.

Buy Best Virucidal Disinfectant

Swiss-Made, limited virucidal, caring – we at Wiesenberg have developed a very special product for you. We have not only put all our know-how into the formulation for our disinfectant gel, but also a lot of time and attention to detail. The result is our fragrant, caring and limited virucidal hand disinfectant that makes hygiene fun. Just visit our online store, test our product and see for yourself.