The use of gloves and masks is essential to prevent the spread of the virus that causes the current Covid-19 pandemic. But hand washing has more relevance, with them we touch many objects that before you touched them, have been in contact with many people, by carelessness, we can bring our hands to our eyes, nose and mouth, facilitating self-infection. If we don't have enough money to buy gloves, disinfecting our hands with soap and water is the right thing to do.
The coronavirus (English acronym for coronavirus disease, 'coronavirus disease' or 'Covid-19'), has a membrane of oily lipid molecules and proteins that protect it and from which other proteins stand out that help it to bind and infect the cells.
Soap molecules have a hybrid structure with a head that interacts with water and a tail that avoids it and is easily related to grease.
The soap destroys the virus when the hydrophobic tails of the soap molecules adhere to the lipids of the membrane and open it.
A bar of soap traps the dirt on the hands and the fragments of the destroyed virus in small bubbles, the micelles or set of molecules, which we remove by rinsing with water.
There is nothing like water that provides a sensation of cleanliness and hygiene and, accompanied by a good natural soap, they form the perfect equipment to protect our hands from microorganisms present on objects and in the environment. Washing hands should become a habit that lasts over time and not only during a health pandemic caused by a virus.