How to quickly and correctly cure a chemical burn to the eye?

Last update: 03/03/2021

A chemical burn occurs when the skin comes into contact with acids, alkalis, salts of heavy metals and other caustic substances. Lesions of the epidermis upon contact with substances are divided into four degrees of severity:

• I degree – slight redness and pain from touching.
• Stage II – the appearance of bubbles with clear liquid.
• III degree – large blisters filled with cloudy liquid and bloody discharge, impaired sensitivity.
• IV degree – damage to all tissues down to the bone.

Regardless of the degree, first aid for a chemical burn is the same. In case of severe injuries (from stage III), you need to call a doctor, and then begin providing first aid.

What is a chemical eye burn?

As a result of eye contact with aggressive chemicals, a chemical burn occurs, the severity of which, depending on the amount of the substance and its concentration, can be one of five degrees.

In the case of the most severe, fifth degree, there is extensive damage to the tissues of the surface of the eye , which in most cases leads to partial or complete loss of vision.

Important! The severity also depends on the age of the victim: statistics show that such injuries are more severe in children than in adults.

Depending on the substance that comes into contact with the eyes, different symptoms and consequences may occur.

Prevention of burns

To minimize the risk of chemical burns, basic safety precautions should be followed whenever using chemicals:

• Use personal protective equipment - mask or respirator, gloves, goggles;
• Chemicals should be stored only in safe places where they cannot be reached by children and animals;
• Such compositions should be stored only in containers with appropriate markings, and these containers should be tightly closed without leaking;
• After working with a chemical, you need to leave the room and ventilate it;
• Never mix substances unless you are sure of the result.

The rules are very simple, and their strict implementation will help to avoid dangerous situations, including chemical burns.

Symptoms

The very first and “harmless” signs of a chemical burn are redness of the mucous membrane and burning, as well as blepharospasm (the patient cannot open his eyes).
Typical symptoms for chemical burns of any origin are :

• photophobia;
• blurred vision;
• decreased visual acuity;
• swelling of the eye;
• change in color of the cornea and mucous membrane;
• paleness of the cornea of ​​the eye;
• the appearance of scars over time.

Sometimes, as a consequence of a chemical burn, cataracts or glaucoma can develop, and even after taking all therapeutic measures, gradual and inevitable death of the eyeball (subatrophy) can occur.

Important! Eye burns mainly occur during work at various manufacturing plants, where a person comes into contact with various chemicals.

But you can also get such an injury at home (for example, when doing eyelash extensions or getting household detergents or alcohol in your eyes).

Consequences

If the burn was caused by an acid or alkali, a crust forms in its place, which has its own name - a scab.

Alkalies in contact with skin are much more dangerous than acids, because... they quickly penetrate into the deep layers of tissue, causing serious damage.

• If the burn was caused by alkali, the color of the scab is whitish, without clear boundaries, with an imperceptible transition to adjacent healthy tissue. The texture of the scab is soft and loose; it hardens much later.
• When exposed to acid, the scab looks different - from dense, hard and dry. The border is clearly defined, the transition to healthy areas of the skin is visible to the naked eye. Typically, such injuries are superficial, which speeds up recovery.

The color of the tissue in the affected area depends on the type of chemical:

1. When sulfuric acid comes into contact with the skin, the burn is initially white, then turns gray or brown.
2. When exposed to nitrogen acid, the burn will be light yellow, with a greenish or brown tint.
3. When skin comes into contact with hydrochloric acid, a yellow burn is formed;
4. Acetic acid leaves off-white burns when it comes into contact with the skin;
5. After carbolic acid, white traces remain, which subsequently become brown;
6. Concentrated hydrogen peroxide leaves dirty-gray burns.

It is useful to study and remember the differences in burns by color so that in a critical situation you can quickly determine the type of composition that burned the skin. This will help minimize harm or even save lives.

When chemicals get on the skin, their effect continues for some time after contact has been stopped (the wound is washed, a bandage is applied).

This is due to the peculiarities of the functioning of our tissues - the absorption of the substance does not stop instantly, which makes it much more difficult to determine the degree of the burn.

Sometimes the substance continues to act for several hours or even days - so it is very difficult to immediately draw conclusions about the depth of the damage. As a rule, it is possible to accurately determine the extent of the burn only 1-1.5 weeks after the injury - by this time the scab begins to suppurate, which is one of the parameters when determining the depth of the damage.

The severity of a burn from contact with chemicals depends on two key characteristics - depth and area. Chemical burns themselves are usually deep, and if they are also large, this aggravates the situation.

Treatment and first aid

In case of chemical burns, it is very important for the patient to correctly provide first aid : it depends on whether the person will be able to preserve his vision.

The process for providing such assistance is as follows:

1. Remains of the chemical are removed from the eyes using a cotton swab.
2. After this, the damaged eyes are washed under running water for 10-15 minutes.
3. In case of an alkaline burn, you should additionally rinse your eyes with a two percent solution of boric acid (in the case of an acid burn, use a soda solution for this).
4. If necessary, the victim should be given pain medication, since chemical burns can cause painful shock.
5. If possible, 4% solutions of novocaine, lidocaine, or 0.2% solution of chloramphenicol should be instilled into damaged eyes.

Before performing such procedures, the patient must be placed in a dark room, since damaged eyes react very sharply and painfully to light.
At home, your eyes can be washed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate . At the end of this set of measures, it is necessary to drip one of the following disinfectants into the eyes:

• Levomycetin 0.25% solution;
• Gentamicin (it is better to use drops, since applying the drug in the form of an ointment for severe damage to the eyeball can cause severe pain to the victim);
• Albucid sodium;
• Sofradex;
• Sebizon;
• Sulfacyl sodium;
• Ophthalimide;
• Acetopt.

Important! No folk remedies are effective for chemical burns: you should not waste time washing your eyes with tea or herbal infusions; you must go to the hospital as soon as possible to provide adequate medical care.

Frostbite

Frostbite is damage to the skin under the influence of low temperatures, both from local freezing and from general hypothermia of the body. Low temperatures impair metabolism in cells and lead to their death.

1 Treatment of frostbite

2 First aid for frostbite

3 First aid for frostbite

Nature and degree of frostbite

A person can get frostbite in different situations:

• frostbite of the cheeks, nose, ears, fingers and toes in frosty weather;
• wearing tight and wet shoes at sub-zero temperatures;
• hypothermia of the body as a result of prolonged exposure to water or snow;
• prolonged exposure to the cold while intoxicated.

Watch for the following signs of frostbite. At first, a person will feel cold, then a burning sensation, first the skin turns red, and then turns white. Skin sensitivity is impaired and numbness occurs. Usually a hypothermic person does not feel his condition, and this makes diagnosis difficult.

Degrees of frostbite

Just like with burns, frostbite is divided into 4 degrees.

• 1st degree of frostbite : redness and numbness of the skin area and loss of sensitivity of the affected area of ​​the skin, burning and itching occur. When warmed and rubbed, frostbitten skin begins to turn red. Stage 1 frostbite goes away within a week.
• Stage 2 frostbite is characterized by deeper damage to the layers of the skin and the appearance of blisters with clear liquid on the skin.
• 3rd degree of frostbite : tissue necrosis appears, healing takes place within a month with the formation of scars.
• 4th degree frostbite : not only the skin is affected, but also the bones and joints. The affected tissues are bluish in color and blisters appear.

Useful video

From this video you will learn more about the consequences and proper treatment of chemical eye burns:

Self-medication for chemical burns is unacceptable. The only thing that the victim must do independently or with outside help is to rinse the damaged eyes with plenty of water.

After this, you need to wait for a doctor who can provide professional assistance and prescribe a further course of treatment. In this case, even with severe burns, vision can be preserved or restored.

Thermal Burn Action Plan

Everyone has received burns from boiling water, fire, sun, steam, or in contact with hot dishes at least once. In most cases, such an injury is minor, the severity of the injury corresponds to grade I or II.

What should be done:

1. Immediately eliminate the damaging factor (extinguish burning clothing, stop exposure to steam or boiling water).
2. Remove clothing if it covers the damaged area.
3. Place the affected part of the body under cool running water.
4. Cover the injury with a damp bandage.
5. For first degree burns, apply a product with panthenol (helps eliminate swelling, inflammation, itching, and tissue regeneration).

To prevent infection and treat wounds in grade III or II, gauze swabs soaked in antiseptics are subsequently applied to the area. The same treatment is required if the bubble accidentally opens due to mechanical stress. If infection does occur, your doctor may prescribe topical antimicrobials in the form of powders, topical ointments, or oral medications.

How to treat the consequences of burns with household chemicals?

Some scars are completely painless and are considered a cosmetic defect, while others cause discomfort and require treatment. It is possible to smooth out the surface of the skin and lighten red-burgundy scars, but there is no talk of 100% removal of scars. Thin light stripes will most likely remain forever. This is due to the fact that when the skin is traumatized, its natural pattern is disrupted. To make the scar as invisible as possible, you can consult a dermatologist or solve the problem at home yourself.

You can get a free consultation from our specialist!

doctor Svetlana Viktorovna Ogorodnikova.

doctor

Cosmetology procedures

After burns from household chemicals, scars of all types can remain: thin normotrophic, protruding hypertrophic or keloid, as well as atrophic, reminiscent of chickenpox. The cosmetologist’s task is to even out the relief, start skin regeneration, fill the missing volume or eliminate excess scar tissue. There are different techniques available for scar correction. Here are the most effective of them:

• Laser resurfacing . The outer, pathologically altered layer of connective tissue is destroyed during the procedure. At this point, the active construction of healthy cells and the production of fresh collagen begins, due to which the skin texture is evened out. Several sessions and a serious period of rehabilitation are required, as the procedure is quite painful.
• Microdermabrasion I. Another option for hardware skin resurfacing is treatment with crystalline aluminum oxide. The upper stratum corneum is carefully removed and the formation of new cells is stimulated. The skin becomes even and smooth. Volumetric scars gradually decrease.
• Introduction of fillers . This procedure allows you to temporarily smooth out the skin texture by filling areas with atrophic scars with hyaluronic acid. Fillers stimulate tissue regeneration and collagen synthesis. After injection, the skin will become softer and more elastic.
• Acid deep peels . A special solution carefully removes the top layer of the epidermis. This helps to renew the skin and reduce the size of scars. This method is suitable for correcting atrophic scars in complex therapy.

Cosmetic procedures are effective, but removing a scar in one session will not work. The larger and brighter the scar, the more often and longer you will have to visit a dermatologist. The duration of the course also depends on the chosen technique. With laser resurfacing or microdermabrasion, 3-4 procedures are sufficient. Fillers need to be injected regularly every 6-12 months. When correcting using peelings, you will need at least 6-8 sessions. It is important to remember that all procedures have contraindications and are prescribed strictly by a specialist.

Why do skin burns occur from household chemicals?

When purchasing detergents and cleaning products, many people pay attention only to the stated effect, but do not read the information about safety precautions and even less often study the composition. This is important, since the composition of household chemicals almost always includes ingredients that are hazardous to the skin . It can be:

• anionic surfactants;
• caustic soda;
• potassium hydroxide;
• sodium hypochlorite;
• ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid.

The presence of any of these ingredients in cleaning products requires compliance with safety precautions. They are aggressive to the skin. You can only work with these substances even for a short time while wearing gloves. Ignoring the instructions for use may result in burns. The skin is injured due to contact with reagents, and then recovers for a long time. An unsightly scar may remain at the site of the lesion.