A Potential Benefit of Hypochlorous Acid - Facial Sanitisation: A Review

Sanitisation has become a major component of everyday life, with emphasis on the hands and surfaces. The face remains unsanitised. This is due to the lack of an acceptable sanitiser. The use of masks has been implemented in order to protect the spread of the pathogens by covering the face, however there remain issues associated with the use of PPE.. The face remains a harbour for upper respiratory tract infections, with constant deposition and replication of microbes. With SARS-CoV-2 being so prominent, it was postulated that there is an inoculum dose-dependant relationship with severity. By reducing microbial load of the face, the risk of both infection and severity of infection are reduced. HOCl has proven antimicrobial and antiinflammatory activity and was tested for efficacy against SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating a 99.99% reduction (50ppm; 1 min contact). A facial sanitiser, added to the arsenal of hand sanitisers and masks, further improves protection and prevention against SARS-CoV-2. The advantages of regular sanitising of the face and mask include a reduced level of microbial contamination, reduced risk of biofilm formation, and respiratory tract and skin infections. HOCl was reviewed as a face and face mask sanitiser, concluding that it was an ideally suited product.