actualgenesisfrog-blog asked: Hey fuck those people who think herbal remedies will solve a pandemic, and handwashing is important... but isn't it right that antibacterial stuff(hand sanitizer and specific wipes) won't prevent a virus(such as covid-19) from spreading because they're not... bacteria? viruses and bacteria are separate things, yes? Viruses aren't alive, yes?
Alcohol, bleach, etc kill some bacteria and viruses by destroying their physical structures. They are disinfectants, not “antibiotics” in the way that penicillin or bacitracin are antibiotics. Delicate viruses, like coronaviruses, are physically destroyed with relative ease by damaging the titular “corona”. Viruses like norovirus are not affected by hand sanitizer because their physical structure is hardier and more difficult to penetrate. They are not affected by antibiotics at all.
I guess one way to think of it is that bacteria can be murdered, and they can be destroyed—viruses can only be destroyed.
Was really getting it until that last line which has me confused again.
Bacteria are living organisms. They’re weird little dudes, but they’re alive, they metabolize things, they are cells, and they can be murdered with poison that kills them (antibiotics) or by shredding them into pieces.
Viruses aren’t alive. They’re bizarre little clumps of genetic material and protein that don’t really… do anything except turn living cells into virus replication factories and then make them explode. They can’t be poisoned, but you can break them apart physically.
Sometimes viruses can be combated with antivirals—unlike antibiotics, antivirals don’t actually kill/destroy viruses themselves, but makes it harder for them to turn cells into exploding replication factories.
Viruses are more like machines than living things. You can either break them, or make their task harder or impossible, but you can’t kill them.
There’s a theory that viruses started as intra-cell messenger systems which ran wild. So you’re sick with the cellular equivalent of a postman knocking on your door, shouting at you in ancient greek until you die of confusion, then using your house to make more postmen.
#its not a perfect analogy
au contraire, as someone regularly menaced by hordes of Grecian postmen attempting to replicate themselves inside my home, I find this a simple, relevant, and relatable analogy
the one pleasurable thing about all of this is i can just be outright rude to people and face 0 repercussions for it. i had this exact conversation about 20 times today:
“where is your [high demand product]?”
“we’re out of stock.”
“seriously?”
“we’ve been out of stock for days.”
“when will you get more in?”
“the distributors are out of stock so it depends on them. we’re ordering as much as we can.”
[incredulous staring as if they expect me to do something about this]
“… i don’t know what to tell you, everyone had the same idea as you but, like, three days ago.”
customer asked if we had hand sanitizer and i said “what do you think?” and there were no consequences whatsoever
Don't give up. Unless you have to for a little while. Then don't panic. CONTAINS: Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons, Critical Role, History, Current Affairs, Space, Cats, and Etc. Adult.
