Two Great Ideas

Status
Not open for further replies.
Rianne

Rianne

Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Joined
Aug 2, 2017
Messages
4,734
Location
Champaign
1. Scientists develop a lotion, like sunscreen, that protects skin for (2 hours?). So anything you touch, the virus is killed upon touching your skin. A clothes line was developed for Lyme Disease that kills ticks on contact.



2. Use cruise ships as floating hospitals. Sanitize the heck out of them, then bring patients there. They have kitchens and plenty of rooms. Geez, how many cruise ships are there in the world that will be useless?
 
The cruise ship idea was considered after hurricane Katrina for those displaced but dismissed. Maybe now it's worth considering. But who will staff them? Retrain the current workers?
 
Love the idea of the lotion. It would need to have "staying power" on hands. C'm on scientists, get cracking!
Cruise ships are equated in my mind these days with generalized horror, so I'm not sure I can ever consider them as a place to "get well."
 
folivier said:
But who will staff them? Retrain the current workers?
Click to expand...
That's a good idea. Cruise ship staff must be trained in sanitation (you'd think) to a degree already. And they're used to long hours, so I'm told.
 
Rianne said:
2. Use cruise ships as floating hospitals. Sanitize the heck out of them, then bring patients there. They have kitchens and plenty of rooms. Geez, how many cruise ships are there in the world that will be useless?
Click to expand...

That didn't work so well on the Diamond Princess .
 
Rianne said:
1. Scientists develop a lotion, like sunscreen, that protects skin for (2 hours?). So anything you touch, the virus is killed upon touching your skin. A clothes line was developed for Lyme Disease that kills ticks on contact.
Click to expand...

Here is a product called 'Invisible Gloves'. I remember some folks using it instead of nitrile gloves when working with resins. I have no idea if this would work, but it illustrates the concept for a barrier creme. Now to figure out the anti-virus part...
 
The trouble with the lotion idea is that anything that kills the virus would damage your skin if your skin was exposed for hours at a time.

I suppose if they could somehow create layers, where the virus attacking stuff was on the surface and some nice soothing cream was underneath, it could work. Or applied in two steps, if the nice soothing cream could be applied first, and form a tough skin of its own after a short time? Then put the killing stuff on top?

Quick, apply for a patent! Or just do a Creative Commons license so you can get credit!

edit: see Clone's post ahead of me!

-ERD50
 
I've got a paint sprayer and some polyurethane. Mix in a little clorox and we're ready to go.
 
Perhaps make a lotion with suspended silver nanoparticles (a.k.a. colloidal silver). Silver has been shown to have antiviral properties.
 
Back in the days when Diamond Princess was in the news, I also proposed the cruise lines lease their ships as hospitals. Lots of logistical issues, though.


The ability to touch without transfer is the magic we have been looking for forever! The best I could come up with was cotton gloves over nitrile gloves, and keep spraying the cotton with a solution such as bleach, alcohol or peroxide.
 
I also suggest using empty hotels for emergency hospital beds. They did that in WWII.
 
If they use a cruise ship to treat COVID-19 patients, I wonder if anyone will every book a cruise on that ship again.
 
ERD50 said:
The trouble with the lotion idea is that anything that kills the virus would damage your skin if your skin was exposed for hours at a time.

I suppose if they could somehow create layers, where the virus attacking stuff was on the surface and some nice soothing cream was underneath, it could work. Or applied in two steps, if the nice soothing cream could be applied first, and form a tough skin of its own after a short time? Then put the killing stuff on top?

Quick, apply for a patent! Or just do a Creative Commons license so you can get credit!
-ERD50
Click to expand...
Hydrogen peroxide seems safe. I use it in my ear to clear wax and have used it as mouthwash. It kills viruses. The reason not to use on cuts or scrapes is it kills the good bacteria as well, you need to heal.

Here's what I don't understand. Everyone talks about how long the virus stays active on a surface or skin or clothes. How long does a dose of protection, alcohol, bleach, hydrogen peroxide stay active for protection? Is it the minute you apply it kills the virus or bacteria, that's it, that's all?
 
Rianne said:
Hydrogen peroxide seems safe. I use it in my ear to clear wax and have used it as mouthwash. It kills viruses. The reason not to use on cuts or scrapes is it kills the good bacteria as well, you need to heal.

Here's what I don't understand. Everyone talks about how long the virus stays active on a surface or skin or clothes. How long does a dose of protection, alcohol, bleach, hydrogen peroxide stay active for protection? Is it the minute you apply it kills the virus or bacteria, that's it, that's all?
Click to expand...

The info is out there:

https://www.insider.com/does-alcohol-kill-germs

While washing hands for 20 seconds with soap and water is always preferable, alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be a good alternative, if used properly. Here's what you need to know.

Yes, alcohol does kill germs

A 2020 review of alcohol-based hand sanitizers found that sanitizers which were 60% to 95% alcohol kill germs most effectively, provided that at least 2.4 milliliters of hand sanitizer was applied for 25 to 30 seconds.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says alcohol-based hand sanitizers must contain at least 60% alcohol to be effective. Alcohol kills germs by breaking down its cell walls.
Click to expand...

So it seems soap is better and a bit faster? I'm using soap on surfaces where I can. Rub it in as much as I can, let it sit for a minute or two (why not longer than 20 seconds), then rinse, using a wet towel a couple times if it can't just be immersed.

edit/add - that maybe didn't directly answer your question about how long protection lasts - Well, alcohol evaporates, so probably not long. And it evaporates faster than water, so even if it is still wet, it may be below the 60% they recc. So I would not count on any long term protection from alcohol based sanitizers.


For soap, I'd assume if it is still wet and 'soapy' it would still be effective. A tiny amount of virus and other matter isn't going to deactivate the 'soapiness' of the solution too easily.

As I recall for general sanitizing (look it up to be sure), the rule of thumb is 200 ppM (municipal water is ~ 2ppM). 200ppM is the level most people can easily detect by small. So as long as it stays wet and you can smell it easily it is probably good.

-ERD50
 
Last edited:
President Trump just said in the press conference that he spoke with Carnival this morning and they have agreed to provide cruise ships as floating hospitals if needed. This is on top of ordering Navy hospital ships to prepare to go to NYC.

He must read e-r.org!
 
Almost exactly one month ago, we were talking about how the cruise lines were obviously doomed, but the idea to use the ships as hospitals came up:
sengsational said:
Well, maybe not so obvious. I mentioned in another thread that if governments end-up needing "a lot of beds in separate rooms", and nobody wants to go on a cruise, the cruise industry is in a strong position to rent out entire ships.
Click to expand...
 
Your idea number 1 may already exist : https://apnews.com/ACCESSWIRE/95abbac05021baaa2eeef94db1ec6358

This is the same persistent (hours of protection) antimicrobial - chlorhexidine gluconate -contained in Hibiclens. I actually have been using a couple of drops of Hibiclens rubbed into my hands prior to going out of the house. I usually use gloves but figure the Hibiclens adds another layer of protection.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom