Acid attack is a terrifying prospect, as it cripples a victim with corrosive fluid which could scar them for life, inflicting serious injuries and potentially leaving victims blind.
Since there has been a significant spike in acid attacks across the world, doctors are now stressing the importance of helping the victim in those crucial initial moments, claiming that intervention by a member of the public can drastically improve the results of an attack.
So what should you do if you witness an acid attack?
1. Immediately douse the victim in running water, rather than a wet cloth. The water dilutes the acid, and so it’s important to keep refreshing with as much clean water as possible. This may take 30-45 minutes.
2. Call the ambulance A.S.A.P!
3. Don’t rinse the burn area with dirty water as it can cause severe infection.
4. Remove the chemical while protecting yourself by wearing gloves or use a towel.
5. Don’t try and brush it off with your hands, or you’ll end up burning the unaffected areas of your skin.
6. Remove all the jewellery or clothing which had contact with acid.
7. Don’t apply any kind of cream, ointment on the affected area as it may slow the treatment procedure by doctors.
8. If the substance has entered the victim’s eyes, hold their eye under gently running cold water for at least 10 minutes, thoroughly irrigating the eyelid both inside and out. However, do make sure that contaminated water does not splash the uninjured eye.
9. Don’t touch the injured eye if you have acid on your hands, and don’t forcibly remove a contact lens.Remove the chemical while protecting yourself. Wear gloves or use a towel.
10. Rush the patient to a burn specialty hospital having isolated wards for burn patients.
Helping or getting help as soon as possible is essential because acid burns can cause physical and mental distress to people for the rest of their lives. With that, we’d like to note how important it is to be aware of your surroundings as you’ll never know when these kind of things will strike, and remember to act quickly!
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