2,4-Dichlorobenzyl alcohol is a mild

antiseptic An antiseptic ( and ) is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of sepsis, infection, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''antibiotics'' by the latter's abil ...

, able to kill

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

and

viruses A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are found in almo ...

associated with mouth and throat

infection An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

s. It is a common ingredient in throat lozenges such as Cofsils,

Strepsils Strepsils is a brand of throat lozenges manufactured by United Kingdom, British–Netherlands, Dutch company Reckitt, Reckitt Benckiser. Strepsils throat lozenges are used to relieve discomfort caused by mouth and throat infections. Ingredient ...

, Lorsept, and Gorpils. It is also an ingredient in the European product Neo Borocillina. A low-pH throat lozenge containing dichlorobenzyl alcohol (1.2 mg) and amylmetacresol (0.6 mg) has been found to deactivate

respiratory syncytial virus Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), also called human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) and human orthopneumovirus, is a virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract. It is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus. Its name is derive ...

and SARS-Cov, but not

adenovirus Adenoviruses (members of the family ''Adenoviridae'') are medium-sized (90–100 nm), nonenveloped (without an outer lipid bilayer) viruses with an icosahedral nucleocapsid containing a double-stranded DNA genome. Their name derives from t ...

rhinovirus The rhinovirus (from the "nose", , romanized: "of the nose", and the ) is a Positive-sense single stranded RNA virus, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the genus ''Enterovirus'' in the family ''Picornaviridae''. Rhinoviru ...

. A dentifrice containing 10% sodium benzoate and 0.3% dichlorobenzyl alcohol maintains antimicrobial activity for 5 to 10 minutes after brushing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol, 2,4- Primary alcohols Chlorobenzene derivatives