To not know wtf to do if witnessing an acid attack?!

[Lwrenn]

Another day, another shit thread title, sorry.

Today I've made my Google history more grim than usual by finding out a bit more than I knew about acid attacks since the attack on the poor family just hit the news.
It occurred to me I know what to do if there is a shooting/stabbing or fire burn, but not large scale chemical burns and sadly it seems that the rates of acid being used to harm and disfigure people isn't slowing down.

I'd be happy for any medical professionals to point me into any more information but I found the main advice (I had planned to link it but my phone is being somewhat arsey with me) was to wash as much of the chemical away as possible, using water, milk or cola if that is all there is to hand.

I couldn't find if it's best to remove the victims clothes but I presume getting acid off of them would dictate removing their clothes, I've read stories that people have needed hair shaving instantly to stop the burning. (Not suggesting anyone starts stripping and shaving victims, I'm just hoping someone will have more answers!) So if you have information on that I'd appreciate it.

I'm hoping that buying corossive substances become more difficult, that acid attacks sentencing carries a life sentence and is tried as attempted murder, I'm hoping that there is going to be medical advice handed out by the government and NHS what to do if you're victim of or witness an attack.

I'm aware there is a go fund me set up for the family of this heinous, cowardly attack online, and I'll chuck into that what I can for the family, but I think now that this is such a terrible way forward for women to be abused, we do need as the public, more training in this.

Ideally, we'd just tell men to not acid attack us, but like we ask them to not hit us, rape us, murder us, doesn't always make a massive amount of difference.

Either way, it's one of the scariest most abhorrent, cowardly crimes and I hope nobody ever experiences it ever again, but equally, because they will, I hope we're taught what to do in this case.

We just have cases like Ched Evans, David Carrick, Adam Johnson (Sunderland AFC), Wayne Couzins, John Worboys, two women a week murdered by a current or former partner.

It's insane to think that Britain is somehow less misogynist just because British misogyny looks different from Pakistani misogyny.

Whether the substance is ammonia, caustic soda, phenol, or anything else, water water water water and do not touch.

Thanks everyone for your input, massively appreciated and I just hope that it becomes a covered subject now - imagine the horror of People not using water out of fear they'd make things worse.

To the poster who said I should go on a first aid course I'll be booking in soon, mine are really dated now so it's definitely worth looking at a new one, hopefully they do cover things such as chemical burns, stabbings/shootings now because the World isn't slowing down with these terrible acts.

It used to be falls and seizures and heart attacks etc, now it's fear of some poor lass being chemically attacked and its just very difficult to comprehend how we got here.

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate your time and help 🙏🏼

Depending on the chemical many protective gloves won't work and you can easily make things worse by ripping the skin as you can't judge the pain.

Let the person remove clothes if they want to. They will not cause themselves more pain. You should not remove their clothes, just drench in water.

This is the St John’s Ambulance first aid advice…in a nutshell, running cold water for 20 minutes and remove contaminated clothing…

https://www.sja.org.uk/get-advice/first-aid-advice/burns-and-scalds/chemical-burns/#:~:text=Severe%20chemical%20burn%3A,Remove%20contaminated%20clothing.

…however, in the event you were to witness such an attack in the street, you would be more than likely to put yourself and bystanders at risk by getting actively involved in such a situation.

I’m a trained first aider and work in a related role. If you can do the above without compromising yourself…eg an incident in the workplace where you have protective clothing (goggles, gloves and apron ideally) and running water nearby and the burns are to a relatively small area, it may be possible to tackle it, but really the most sensible course of action if to dial 999, prevent anyone else accessing the area of the incident and provide as much reassurance as possible.

Reading up on how to treat shock is probably worthwhile. There’s also a SJA app you can download (I don’t actually work for them, honest, but their training is great).

https://www.sja.org.uk/get-advice/first-aid-advice/bleeding/shock/

Also for those worrying about helping and getting it wrong, a law was introduced to protect first aiders acting in good faith with reasonable knowledge back in 2015.

What are the chances of actually witnessing this?

Hopefully minimal, but it's barely an unheard of phenomenon these days.

There are some unpleasant racists on here. Vitriol (sulphuric acid) throwing was a Victorian phenomenon- there’s a Sherlock Holmes story where it features. If you make corrosive substances easily available, some vile human beings will use them on other people.

I’ve just name changed for this. I actually did witness an acid attack at Christmas. It was not reported in the media as far as I am aware.

I went into a shop and took bottles of water and poured over the victim’s head. He was panicked because he couldn’t breath as I was soaking him but I wanted to act quickly. I was not the only one helping. A policeman was passing by and he got some of the clothes off and was pouring water over the victims face but he only had a small bottle. I got the massive bottles. No one else helped. The fire brigade came and closed the roads as more police came. The fire brigade were very slow to help. No urgency to get water. The first policeman and me were the best at the scene.

Water & saline solution for eyes
pour water so it doesn’t splash back
if only 1 eye is affected be careful not to get it in the other via flushing the affected eye

it’s very hard & you have to constantly flush with water

Never remove clothing unless advised to

Dilute with as much water as you can find. Continually pour on the affected area/areas.

This works with alkali or acid.

I accidentally splash myself with hydrochloric acid on a semi regular basis and just rinse it off. It's only a 40%, mix but it feels kind of like a hot stinging nettle. Water works but I've never got in my eyes as always wear goggles.

Hydroflouric (I think) acid is the one that really scares me as it can soak through your skin and eat your bones. 😬 You sometimes won't realise straight away apparently.

@Feb123 I'm sorry you witnessed that pal 💐💔💐

Yeah, doesn't hurt at first as affects the nerves. It also posions you. It's technically only a weak acid chemically but it's very corrosive and not to be messed with. I've worked with it and was more careful than using other acids.

Luckily it's generally only found diluted around the home for example in wheel cleaners.

Thank you. It was a shocker. Christmas too
I know it’s taken seriously because lots of door to door enquiries with detectives. But was so surprised it wasn’t on the news. Scary how much goes on that we don’t know about

Do the three day First Aid at Work (you don't have to be sent by an employer, you can book as a private individual) - it's more useful as it will cover penetrating wounds (DON'T remove it, don't apply direct pressure to it), Adrenaline Auto Injector use and how to operate a defibrillator as well as the usual CPR - the recommended methods for that have changed recently, by the way.

I've worked in prisons, and have seen chemical burns.

I echo others, keep rinsing with cold water until help arrives, even if it appears to stop burning!

20 mins minimum of running water. Easier said than done. If pouring on the face be careful of how the flow of water is directed, could cause the victim to ingest it via eyes, nose, mouth etc...
Don't remove clothing, again risk of spreading the substance. Try to keep the person talking and calm. It would be an awful thing to witness and the human instinct will take over but need to also mimimse risk to yourself