We meet with acids in chemistry lessons, when, under the guidance of a teacher, we diligently fill test tubes with them and mix them with various reagents. But the experience of handling concentrates and solutions must be preserved for life. This is required in everyday life for each of us. For example, everyone in the kitchen has acetic acid. A burn with this substance is a fairly common household injury. Especially often a bottle with an interesting liquid is found by children. Today we will consider the features of first aid in this case.
Prevention is easier than cure
Restoring the skin, and even more so the mucous membranes lining the internal organs, requires quite a lot of time. An acetic acid burn is quite a serious injury, so you should do everything to prevent such an accident in your home. The most dangerous is 70% acid, because itis concentrated. At home, it is practically not used. For salads and pastries, table vinegar is used. Therefore, when buying an essence, you can immediately dilute a part. To do this, take one part acid and ten parts water. It turns out 9% table vinegar, which is quite safe and will not cause burns if it comes into contact with the skin. And the essence bottle needs to be removed as securely as possible.
Sometimes we ourselves can inadvertently get burned with acetic acid. When making preparations for the winter, you can accidentally spill a little acid on your shirt. At first it will be imperceptible, but the composition is absorbed to the skin. As a result, a burn develops. After a while, you may feel pain. In this case, you need to quickly remove clothes and assess the condition of the skin.
Acetic acid burn requires immediate attention. To do this, rinse the affected area well with water. To do this, it is better to make a weak pressure of slightly warm water. Rinsing takes at least 15 minutes. During this time, prepare a soap or soda solution. They need to wash the affected area well, and then again immerse it under running water.
Assess the condition
If the integrity of the skin is not broken, the redness is slight, then improvised means can be used. For this, sea buckthorn oil, fresh potato gruel or a compress with fresh aloe are suitable. But only if the patient tolerated the initial treatment normally and does not experience severe pain.
If the surface of the skin turned very white, and then begins to darken, it means that the lesion is quiteserious. Treatment of a burn with acetic acid is the work of a specialist, most often this is done by a surgeon in the burn department. An antiseptic ointment should be applied to the affected skin and a bandage should be applied to immobilize the damaged area. With this, you need to go to the doctor's appointment and continue to follow his recommendations.
Treatment for serious injury
In this case, the therapy will be quite serious. You will definitely need to stop the pain. For this, painkillers are prescribed. The wound is treated with anti-inflammatory and antiseptic drugs. Antihistamines are often used. They help relieve swelling and speed up healing. The slightest suppuration is a reason to prescribe and start taking antibiotics.
A person should not be allowed to endure pain. In case of severe damage to the skin, it is necessary to offer the victim an anesthetic, apply a lidocaine compress to the damaged area. Sometimes a person has a fever. In this case, even before the ambulance arrives, you need to give the victim an antipyretic. How to treat a burn with acetic acid on the skin? This should be decided by the attending physician.
Eye injury
Also quite common. And the situation is usually the same. The hostess hurries to open the bottle of vinegar, holds it firmly at the base and pulls the cap up with a sharp movement. After several attempts, it unexpectedly easily flies off and the liquid splashes upwards in a fountain. A burn with acetic acid (70%) of the mucous membrane of the eyes can lead to partial or complete loss of vision. The first reaction is a burning sensation in the eye area. Intuitively, the eyes close and I want to rub them with my hands.
What is required? Get oriented instantly. Shake a small amount of soda into a glass (1 teaspoon) and pour water. Thoroughly wash the affected area with this solution. After that, rinse with clean water and consult a doctor immediately. Further treatment will depend on how much acid got on the mucous membranes and whether you managed to neutralize its effect quickly enough.
Internal burn
Sometimes children manage to get to the brightly colored bottle, and before the parents can react, they sip the interesting-smelling liquid. In this case, an internal chemical burn with acetic acid is obtained, which can threaten life and he alth. Now everything will depend on how quickly you react and can provide first aid to the victim.
The danger may lie in the fact that vinegar essence can lead to necrosis of the tissues of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus and stomach. Acid ingestion on an empty stomach is especially dangerous. If a large amount of acid is ingested, peritonitis may develop due to the formation of open ulcers in the walls of the stomach and intestines.
Basic steps and help
Intoxication develops first. Vinegar is a rather toxic substance that causes toxemia. Infectious complications often develop, that is, pneumonia, peritonitis,gastritis, burn asthenia. So, if vinegar gets into the oral cavity, you must immediately rinse your mouth with cold water. After that, you need to treat the oral cavity with a soda solution and consult a doctor. Treatment may require antibiotics, pain medication, and antihistamines. Sometimes surgery is needed to remove dead parts of the mouth.
In this case, we are talking about a situation where the acid that got into the mouth was immediately spit out. The patient's condition can be much more dangerous if he managed to swallow part of the composition.
Loss of the larynx
In this case, you should immediately rinse the throat (and preferably the stomach) with a solution of soda. This is followed by mandatory hospitalization of the patient. In a hospital setting, the doctor himself will decide how to treat the patient. For him, repeated washings of the larynx and stomach with special saline solutions can be carried out. They are designed to neutralize all the acid that has got inside. After that, the attending specialist chooses further therapy, and also prescribes the strictest diet.
Acetic acid burn of the esophagus
This is an extremely dangerous condition that occurs when large amounts of acid are swallowed. The victim will need intensive gastric lavage using large amounts of water. Therefore, do not hesitate and call an ambulance. In a hospital setting, washing will be carried out using a special probe. At the same time, special therapy is also prescribed. It is necessary to block painsyndrome, reducing stomach cramps, drugs to normalize the work of the heart, liver and kidneys. In parallel, antiseptics, antibiotics and means to relieve shock are mandatory. All together can save the life of your loved one.
Depending on the severity of the condition
Help for burns with acetic acid depends on the severity of the patient's condition. If, after observation, doctors diagnosed a first-degree burn, then you can be treated at home, but under the supervision of a doctor. In the second and third degree, the patient must be admitted to the hospital.
Typically, the following methods are used:
- Severe pain is relieved with toxins, analgesics or sprays.
- Sedative drugs are used to calm the patient. It could be valerian or bromine.
- So that the wound does not fester and infection does not get into it, sulfonamides are prescribed.
- For a burnt throat, oil preparations are used, which are injected with a special syringe.
- With internal burns, it is imperative to detoxify the body. For this, a solution of homodez or glucose is used.
Instead of a conclusion
Acetic acid burn can be very serious. You must know what to do in such a case, how to help a loved one or yourself in case of acid damage. In some cases, it is enough to wash the affected area under water. Others will needprolonged hospitalization. In any case, only the attending specialist should be involved in assessing the patient's condition.
