RETHINKING THE SAFE USE OF DESINFECTANT CHAMBER

A while ago, nearly midnight my phone beeped. 

“Ndar, are you awake?” a rhetorical question was asked. He must be aware that I was still awaken. As an export sales marketer focusing on African region, 11 pm in Indonesia time is still early for me.

A few minutes later, he called and jumped up with a bizzare idea “Ndar, you are producing disinfectant chamber for Africa, but have you ever think of produce it to be used in our hospitals?”

“WHAT!! Are you kidding me, isn’t that your ministries was against using that stuffs?”

By the end of March, Indonesian government has announced a press release of against the use of disinfectant chamber. The main argument that because of skin irritation problems and theories that might be valid but not relevant with fighting against Covid-19. Before the government released that statement, there were movement from societies to use disinfectant chamber as the last resort in fighting Covid-19. Ever since the release, societies were abandoning the use of it. However no breakthrough alternatives from the government. 

“Come on Ndar! I know you can puzzle it up, and offer solutions, you can discuss to your colleagues, I have known you for years, you are creative and your logical flows are enough to find something, we all need that right now. Please help!”

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He is a best friend to me, he has a position in the ministry of health. I have mentioned previously that the government forbid people to utilize disinfectant chamber without offering a breakthrough on what devices can be utilized for the society in combating Covid-19. 

Three dawns after he called, I have arranged online discussion with 2 professors, a childhood friend who become a well-known physician (also a PhD candidate). At the third dawn my thesis advisor, a respected Professor in one of prestigious Institute in Indonesia ordered me “Ndar, you have to re-write your logics about this matter and make it as a popular article. Let people know, let people think and have information about it”

Her order, urged me to write this notes. 

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So allowed me to inform you based on my knowledge and logics. However I am trying to stagger my logic step by step in order to inform you the possible safe utilization of disinfectant chamber. I warn you! You must follow my logical thinking and be a gentleman to read this information until the end. 

BUT!! If your mind and heart were not gentle enough, and you choose to follow your political ideas and all that politics’ rubbish, or any conspiracy theory, YOU BETTER STOP AT THIS POINT!!. 

A. Healthcare Workers are Dead due to Covid-19

This is the basic foundation of my logic and the driving force that urged my best friend request. This phenomenon is not an anomaly, but you cannot say that it is common as well. Healthcare workers are our savior during this pandemic. A Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) or hazmat suit, or the cloths that coverall their bodies, was made as 3 layers and impermeably designed. If the wearer were exposed with sars-cov2 viruses, and you think that the suit was leak. In my humble opinion: 

• You don’t know that polyethylene is the materials were used for hazmat suit. 
• You have to construct your logic, that 3 to 5 layers of suit might have leakage through the user’s body, is nearly 99,9 % impossible! 

 

Polyethylene, if this is not familiar to you, you all now the sugar / foodstuff pack plastic. If you can accept this simple logic idea, is there any chance 3 layered plastics were leaked in the same area thus prone your skin vulnerable to virus?  

notes: at this point we can have a conclusion that our beloved healthcare workers were not exposed due to the bad quality issue of the protective suit. 

2. Sars-cov2 is a VIRUS

That notorious virus known as CORONA virus like many other of its relatives, consisted of lipid bilayer as it envelopes that protects the genetic materials as the important part of it. Frankly saying that a lipid bilayer envelope is “fat cover.” That’s why, if you wash your hand with soap, it will destroy the virus by destructed the fat cover of its body.  Virus needs a host to survive. The host not necessarily help it to replicate,   just enough TO LIVE! Perhaps in hibernate form, as the host will supply amino acid for it. 

C. THE FACT THAT THIS VIRUS CAN STAY IN COMMON MATERIALS IS VERY SCARY IDEA!!  

Sars-cov2 can stay in materials like stainless steel, glass, paper, plastic, fabrics, woods and et cetera. Please observe your surroundings, is there any stuffs around you that was not made from those materials?

 At this stage, I was shocked by a supply link that my friend’s colleagues have posted: 

https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2020/04/13/Hospital-floors-staffs-shoes-test-positive-for-COVID-19-CDC-finds/2441586799153/?sl=&ur3=1

The main idea of the aforementioned article was, the finding of sars-cov2 in the footprints of the paramedics who were in charge of the isolation area. It is confirm that corona viruses was found in just a foot prints, then what about their gloves?

D. Until today, there are no interventional therapy were approved by the regulatory bodies to destroy Covid-19.

Then, if any solutions to combat covid-19 were asked for its proven scientific effectiveness, then seems you were not follow all the news. If we already knew it all, the world will not be locked down.

There is nothing you can do!! Because those proven scientific effectiveness were on trial… I repeat ON TRIALS and perhaps there might be ERRORS.. as trials and errors. 

So what all of these craps got to do with Disinfectant Chamber?  

It is just simply to maximize the utilization to Disinfect! His idea is to provide the chamber outside the isolation room on each hospitals even in primary health centers. 

Practically, it almost impossible to kept the healthcare worker not to go outside the isolation room. Their mobility were out of control to overcome the situation and taking care of patients. The movement and activity cause them to touch common objects such as door handles, handrails, chairs, even unintentionally scraping medical clothes on doors and walls is an opportunity to move the virus.

Other facts revealed during discussions with high schoolmate a well-known physician, he noted that “Ndar, a lot of healthcare workers becomes suspect of Covid-19 were those who were not in charge of taking care of patients Covid19 victims”

It is most likely that they were vulnerable to viruses for touching common objects as stated above.  

Another realities that happens whenever healthcare workers take off their personal protective equipment, there might be a chance that the suits will contaminated floor, and leave a foot prints with traces of viruses. 

Then, I realize the sense of my friend’s logic. “Ndar, whenever heathcare workers get out of isolation room, they enter a disinfectant chamber get sprayed, so it will minimize the contamination of viruses to floors, door handles, walls, et cetera” Exactly, it will diminish the contamination, in a simple way. 

And so what?! Why we avoid the use of disinfectant chamber 

Let’s brainstorm about this topic. But it might be a bit sensitive, however I offer my apology to dear friends all ministries officials. 

We are just citizens who also want to survive. We entrust our fate to you, but sorry, when the Minister in early January said "Ah! this is just a common cold" and instead inviting foreign tourists to our country. Then suddenly within a few weeks, the government took a policy to lock down. It was a very contradictory policy just in a short period of time. This lead to a question: do you understand what you are facing?

So let me extend this logic, and please argue if the fundamental compilers of the logic collapse. However, I am just trying to stagger my logic step by step, I do not want to be considered as a treason or against government policy whatsoever. 

1. Disinfectant is hazardous

Since the first grade of studying Chemistry, any chemicals have certain level of risk to be toxic to human.

However when you mention chemotherapeutic substances, well, it is toxic to humans as well. But how come you can accept the reason of using it in human? 

From the time I studied at college and took chemistry, I already knew that some chemical substances are dangerous for the skin when it was exposed for a period of  time.

Registered drugs are chemical substances, it can be toxic for an improper use. Do you think paracetamol that was used to treat headache is safe? Certainly not, it can cause hepatotoxicity not dose dependent. So when you exaggerate all chemical, in this case disinfectant is dangerous you better think it through carefully. When a disinfectant is sprayed before healthcare worker take off PPE, the aim is simply to diminish the contamination of virus, that most likely staining PPE. Please consider, in this case, the benefit of disinfectant are way above its risk. 

My best friend have said “Ndar, wearing PPE means that we are fully covered from top to toe. The disinfectant is sprayed before we took off PPE. It won’t even touch our skin. By spraying disinfectant to PPE, it will reduce the possibility of contaminating door handles, walls, floor and hand rails” 

2. Do you still insist that disinfectant is dangerous to you?

You better reconsider your reason avoiding disinfectant. It is dangerous if you drink it. However if you just exposed to it in a short period of time, while wearing a full covered PPE, then is there any chance that the chemical will harm you? Or you would prefer to be exposed by Corona virus? 

3. Disinfectant has not been proven to kill viruses, proven to kill bacteria and fungi.

• Disinfectant has not been proven to kill corona virus, please refer to point D as I stated above. My point is—I repeat, there are no interventional therapy were approved by the regulatory bodies to destroy Covid-19, do you want to toss a coin and gamble about this?
•  And while waiting the drug to exist, you don't want to use disinfectant? Ah please, hope you have time to wait and watch the drug being discovered. 

4. Disinfectant is proven to kill bacteria and fungi, not virus. 

It is true that disinfectant destroy bacteria and fungus. As I have mention above, virus cannot live without its host. To live, virus needs amino acid supply from is host, and materials like wood, metal, paper, plastic cannot be host to virus.

However, bacterias and fungus can be easily found in wood, metal, paper and plastic even fabrics. This will be sufficient for virus to get amino acid supply. When the supplier died, the virus died as well. In conclusion, by killing its host will kill the virus. I think it is common knowledge, agreed!!

5. Do we have to use hazardous desinfectant? 

What I have been waiting for is actually related to the government's call to use the Disinfectant Chamber. In my opinion it will be wise if the government explained at what stage the danger of it, is it due to its substance, or the substance is safe enough in short duration of exposure, or what kind of danger and what’s the alternative?  

In case that the disinfectant liquid is sprayed before paramedics took off PPE, there will be less chance that the chemical would exposed to skin, as they already use full cover from top to bottom.

For you and me, we are ordinary people. We can wash hands frequently. Then, what about your bag, shoes, and shirt? When was the last time your bag was washed?

My point is, disinfectant chamber is one way to combat Covid-19. If the chemical is the problems, then we can modify it or explore what is safe.

Corona Virus is fat covered organism, that’s why frequent hand wash with soap under tap water is an efficient effort to prevent contamination. 

 Then it should be enough to spray liquid (mist) of soap or low dose disinfectant or organic liquid (volatile oil) which has been studied of having disinfectant effect.

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ISOLATE THE VIRUS, NOT ONLY HUMAN 

This is the last important note after having discussion with my friend who’s a physician. “We need to think about how to isolate the virus too.  So every time we move and move around, we clean, not just our hands”. Precisely, any common objects that have the potential to be contaminated with virus: bags, pallet in warehousing, clothing, computer keyboards etc. No need to use high concentration disinfectant fluid, but do it often.

Gentle readers, please digest all that logic and let's do it, if you agree. If you disagree, deny the fundamental logic, and GIVE alternative solutions.

Acknowledgements 

Thank you for the fruitful discussion to Professors and best friends, who have encourage me to write this. I only take notes to our discussion, I sincerely thank you for all the knowledge and information.