COVID-19 questions answered: Pets, ultraviolet light, herd immunity & more

Thank you for podcast. I missed something impordue to me hearing issues. Did I hear that bleach, sanitizers, and other products are only effective on hard surfaces, not skin? Is detergents and soap effective on skin to decrease chance of transmission into nose, eyes, etc., respiratory? Thank you.

Thank you Drs Kakar and Polland for this very informative podcast. Steve Singal, Mayo Patient of Dr. Kakar

@janemichele, you are correct. Dr. Poland said "UV light, disinfectants bleaches, ... are very effective but confined to the disinfection or
sanitization of hard surfaces not human bodies and not on skin."

Bleach and other household cleaners and disinfectants should NEVER be ingested, inhaled or use on the skin or on your body, such as in a bath or as a wash.

See this statement posted from Clorox.
https://www.clorox.com/how-to/disinfecting-sanitizing/disaster-preparation-and-cleanup/bathing-bleach-water/
Q. Can I bath in bleach water?

A. Clorox® Regular Bleach2 is NOT recommended for personal hygiene of any kind–consumers should always avoid direct skin and eye contacts with both undiluted bleach, as well as prolonged contact with the various bleach solutions we recommend for household cleaning and laundry. Perhaps you are familiar with the instructions for using bleach for emergency treatment of drinking water. That’s an entirely different situation. For that, the bleach to water ratio is 1/8 teaspoon bleach per gallon of clear water, and the treated water has to stand for 30 minutes before drinking. During this time, the bleach kills any bacteria in the water before breaking down into salt and water. While this solution is safe to drink, using a bleach and water solution for bathing is not approved by the EPA and should not be done.