Acid Attack First Aid

During our self defence classes, we’re increasingly being asked about what to do in the case of an acid attack. And, in the light of what happened to Katie Piper, this horrifying type of attack is especially worrying for people dealing with a stalker.

Our advice is to always listen to your intuition and, wherever possible, avoid being in any potentially harmful situation. Nine times out of 10 there are warning signs before an attack - if something doesn’t feel right, quickly get yourself away from the situation to safety.

Occasionally though, blindside attacks do occur, and we wanted to give you advice from the experts on how to treat an acid attack.

We sat down with Kate Joy of DipHex Solutions Limited to discuss acid attacks and what first aid to administer. DipHex Solutions are a leading supplier of products for emergency chemical first aid and decontamination.

1) Acid attacks have been in the news more frequently in recent years. Are they becoming more common and what types of situations are they used in?

Corrosive attacks have been very much in the news with a year on year rise – Metropolitan Police recorded 752 in 2018. Due to lockdown, the numbers of attacks reported has appeared to decrease but this is difficult to quantify. There are reports of attacks again, corrosives are part of the arsenal of weapons at the disposal of a criminal and this is unlikely to change. It is also noted that attacks are occurring outside of the original London hot spot.  

2) If you are the victim of an acid attack what should you do to minimise damage?

Decontamination is essential in corrosive attacks. In simple terms, corrosive and irritant chemicals cause damage when they penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin and the eyes. The aggressor from the chemical reacts with a target molecule in the tissue causing cellular destruction and the chemical injury develops. The severity of any injury will depend on the number of cells destroyed. The deeper a chemical penetrates the more severe an injury will be.

It is important to note that not only acids are used in these attacks. Whilst the term ‘acid attack’ became prominent, these are in effect “corrosive attacks”. Chemicals used in these attacks are at both ends of the pH scale eg. acid and alkali.

There are in fact six aggressors that can cause damage – acids, alkalis, oxidising agents, reducing agents, chelating agents and solvents. Each will have a different action on our tissues. Due to this, it is important that our decontamination strategy can deal with any corrosive or irritant chemical.

Decontamination is key to reducing the severity of the injury. By removing the chemical from the skin or the eye quickly we can limit penetration and therefore the severity of the injury.

The phrase Remove, Remove, Remove reminds us what to do. Remove yourself from danger, remove contaminated clothing and remove the chemical from the skin or eyes.

Different washing solutions will have differing abilities to manage the decontamination. Water and Saline are passive washes, Amphoteric solutions (Diphoterine®) are active washes.

3) What about if you witness an acid attack, how should you help?

If you witness an attack always call for help. These are difficult situations to manage and medical assistance will be required. Decontamination is the priority but be aware of the risks of cross contamination from the casualty. We strongly advise wearing PPE when assisting in decontamination of a casualty.

Use the decontaminant available as quickly as possible to limit the severity of an injury. Decontaminants include Hypertonic Amphoteric Chelating Agents (Diphoterine®), Water or Saline.

Decontamination with water will flush the chemical from the surface and dilute the chemical to reduce its aggressiveness. If using water, large volumes will be required (Industry standards state 60l/minute for 15 minutes for all Class I corrosive).

Decontamination of the eyes is always a key priority – eyes are extremely susceptible to damage and loss of sight is a catastrophic injury.

With water, be aware that you will initially spread the contamination over a larger area of the body – try to direct water flows away from the sensitive areas of the body to limit the impact. Try to avoid the casualty sitting or lying in the run as this may still be corrosive.

Saline is preferred for the decontamination of eyes due to its isotonicity. The osmotic imbalance when washing with water can assist penetration of chemicals into tissue (known as the wash-in effect). As eyes are particularly sensitive to chemical damage, using saline, which has the same osmotic pressure as the eyes, will reduce this effect. Saline, however, is still only a passive wash and cannot have any effect on a chemical that has already penetrated into the tissues.

Hypertonic Amphoteric Chelating Agents (Diphoterine®) are recommended for decontamination of chemicals. The effective active wash will flush chemicals from the skin and eyes whilst also binding the aggressor. The hypertonic nature of the solutions limits penetration and returns tissue to a safe physiological pH quickly.

4) Tell us about your product and how that can help?

Diphoterine® is a hypertonic amphoteric chelating agent capable of binding the aggressor in all corrosive and irritant chemicals preventing them having a damaging effect on the tissues. This active wash means that much less solution is required for effective decontamination which makes the solution highly portable.

The hypertonic nature of the solution creates an osmotic draw from tissues reducing chemical penetration and returning the tissue to a safe pH quickly thereby preventing injury. This hypertonicity means that we have longer to respond with Diphoterine® and walk away without injury (60 seconds vs an immediate response required with water).

If a delay occurs in commencing irrigation, Diphoterine® can still have a benefit up to 24 hours following contact with the chemicals by returning tissue back to a safe physiological pH. Diphoterine® is sterile, non-toxic, non-irritant and suitable for use by all responders and first aiders.

5) Who can buy it and where can they get it from?

Diphoterine® is available from Diphex Solutions Limited who are the manufacturer’s approved person in the UK. We have a team of friendly advisors who can discuss your hazards and advise on the most appropriate kits to mitigate the risks identified. Please do feel free to give us a call to arrange a chat or demonstration.

Need support?

If you take one thing away from this blog, remember ‘Remove, Remove, Remove’. Removing the acid or chemical quickly and safely is the most important action you can take - starting with the eyes.

We hope you will never have to use this information but we believe in being prepared, switched on and taking positive action to keep yourself and others safe.

For more information about Diphex Solutions, email Kate Joy at kate@diphex.com - please mention that you were referred by Streetwise Defence. www.diphex.com

If you would like to discuss self defence training, just get in touch with your requirements or check out our online classes.