Just Had COVID? A Doctor Has Revealed The Personal Items You Need To Dispose Of

Just had COVID-19 and received your negative test? Congratulations, you’re free to re-enter society! But, if you’d like this to be your last experience with the virus, we suggest taking a squizz at the household items medical experts recommend replacing post-COVID.

Speaking to Scary Mommy, Dr. Vivek Cherian revealed that regardless of avoiding a COVID reinfection, it’s good practice to regularly disinfect frequently used household items; not just to prevent COVID, (which is rarely contracted in this way), but to limit the spread of other viruses like a flu or stomach bug.

Is it necessary to dispose of your toothbrush after contracting COVID-19?

Yes. In fact, “it’s always good practice to change your toothbrush after any illness, including COVID-19. This is true in general but even more so the case if you share a toothbrush holder with another individual,” he said.

What about contact lenses?

“In general for contact lens wearers, the absolute safest option to decrease the risk of any contact lens-related infection is to use daily disposable lenses, or lenses that you throw in the garbage after wearing for one day,” explained Dr Cherian. 

However, there’s no need to stress, “there’s really no data to support the potential transmission of COVID-19 through [your eyeballs].” 

What about bathroom and beauty products?

“In general, products that are dispensed without direct contact through a tube such as cleansers, shampoos, or foundation pumps are relatively safe, though you may want to consider cleaning the surfaces with alcohol,” said Dr Cherian.

“Even products that you may dip your finger into and have direct contact with, such as moisturisers, eye shadows, or lipsticks, do not need to be thrown out.” Phew! Otherwise, COVID-19 was looking like one expensive exercise…

Three tips to remember when you have COVID: 

1/ Ensure you’re regularly disposing of old cosmetics

Just as you’d toss an old loaf of bread, once beauty products have “gone bad” they must be disposed of. Why? According to Dr Cherian, “cosmetic products do not have an unlimited shelf life”. Though they do contain preservatives, which “can be effective at keeping harmful organisms at bay,” they will lose their effectiveness over time, increasing your risk of exposure to harmful bacteria

2/ Allow your makeup products to air our for 10 days 

“There is a lifespan associated with a virus and over a period of time, it will die. If you want to be completely safe after an infection, let beauty products sit around for 10 days before using them again.”

The result? “A good chance that any illness-causing germs would have disappeared by then.”

3/ Don’t share your beauty products 

“For yourself, the chance of reinfection by the exact same virus variant is quite low, especially as you have been exposed to it before. However, this is not necessarily the case with another individual,” explained Dr Cherian. 

And always remember, a handy travel sized sanitiser – like the Aqium Antibacterial Hand Sanitiser with Aloe ($3.49 at Chemist Warehouse) is going to be a total godsend for when it comes to killing off unwanted bacteria.

Have you had COVID? What items around the house did you replace?