EBOLA Viral infection specialist/ HPV/ HSV?

BadMedicine

BadMedicine

Would *I* Lie???
Isn't it great that the [EBOLA] tag has gone off of the main page and may even get retired?!?!

Remember just a couple yeas ago ebola was off the hook! and then this time last year it was the zika virus made landfall in the US... yikes... it's still raging on though but since Trump is the new global warming... not really a peep out of the zika folks... anyways...


So, was wondering if anyone knows how to clean a sleeping bag from someone who may have had herpes. Most people know that herpes (cold sores) are VERY VERY common among adults and many people have them in dormancy for YEARS and never know they have them. Yes, I know it's not a *big* deal and most people with a healthy immune system have almost no symptoms....


further....

I have NO SYMPTOMS and would like to keep it that way.... BUT I often inherit sleeping bags and blankets.. case in point, I just inherited (former tenant left it) a LIKE NEW sleeping bag of very good quality. (I actually ave no indication/evidence the former owner had any virus'.. just being precaucion!)

I'd like to keep it, but how do viruses work? I know they're not really "life" but little computer programs that hijack life so, is HPV & HSV a virus that can live long periods of time outside the body/ without a host? I usually like to burrow-in to a sleeping bag and face to fabric is pretty much a given, any risk of contracting either herpes or hpv from used bedding?!

Anything good to sanitize it without a full washing... not sure how to go about that with a sleeping bag... spray with peroxide... any ideas?

Seriously would like to hear from the viral specialists on board.. this is real science questions. Thanks!!
 
Cardinal

Cardinal

Chickministrator
_______________
The virus is fragile and dries out when exposed to air. Just air out your bag. Throw it in the washer and don't worry about cooties.
 
F

Faroe

Un-spun
Just wash and dry the thing.
Hospitals re-use bedding.
People re-use seconhand clothing.
Not a bit deal!
 
F

FireDance

TB Fanatic
Meh. I think you could do solar exposure and have absolutely no problem with a virus hanging on. However, I would personally wash and dry only because of any musty smell that might be there. I'd be more concerned with mold than I would a virus. There are some viruses that can live a long time on surfaces and others that cannot. Most thankfully do not. Exposure to heat and sunlight will whack most of the common ones as well as most common bacteria.

lol I took my shoes off outside last night after being exposed to some real nasties. They were to get the solar treatment today. Naturally it's raining - ALL day. I will probably tie them in a trash bag and fumigate the things with Lysol. Meanwhile in the night they were probably peed on by mice. Thankfully I am pretty stoic about such things.

My tip? Wash your hands. More likely to pick something up there than your acquired sleeping bag. But like you I wouldn't want to bury my face in someone else's snot n oil. Yuck.
 
Kathy in WV

Kathy in WV

Down on the Farm...
The original hospital type of industrial strength Lysol, in the brown bottle, is viricidal. If you're really worried just wash the bag with that. I remember reading herpes is almost endemic in the population over age two. However, I'd wash it anyway! You dont want to sleep in someones skin, dried sweat etc... lol. Yuck!
 
Blacknarwhal

Blacknarwhal

Let's Go Brandon!
Good ideas on this thread; you can probably use several at once. Start with airing in the sun, then step up to hot wash water with bleach.
 
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