Eye exposure to hydrogen fluoride may cause prolonged or permanent visual defects, blindness, or total destruction of the eye. Swallowing hydrogen fluoride can damage the esophagus and stomach. The damage may progress for several weeks, resulting in gradual and lingering narrowing of the esophagus. How you can protect yourself, and what to do if you are exposed to hydrogen fluoride First, if the hydrogen fluoride was released into the air, get fresh air by leaving the area where the chemical was released.
If the hydrogen fluoride release was outside, move away from the area where the chemical was released. If the hydrogen fluoride release occurred indoors, get out of the building. Removing your clothing Quickly take off clothing that may have hydrogen fluoride on it. Any clothing that has to be pulled over the head should be cut off the body. If you are helping other people remove their clothing, try to avoid touching any contaminated areas, and remove the clothing as quickly as possible.
Washing yourself As quickly as possible, wash any hydrogen fluoride from your skin with large amounts of water. If your eyes are burning or your vision is blurred, rinse your eyes with plain water. If you wear contacts, remove them after washing your hands and put them with the contaminated clothing.
Do not put the contacts back in your eyes even if they are not disposable contacts. If you wear eyeglasses, wash them with soap and water. You can put your eyeglasses back on after you wash them. Disposing of your clothes After you have washed yourself, place your clothing inside a plastic bag. Avoid touching contaminated areas of the clothing. Anything that touches contaminated clothing should also be placed in the bag. Seal the bag, and then seal that bag inside another plastic bag.
Disposing of your clothing in this way will help protect you and other people from any chemicals that might be on your clothes. When local or state health department or emergency personnel arrive, tell them what you did with your clothes. The health department or emergency personnel will arrange for further disposal. Do not handle the plastic bags yourself.
Do not give the person activated charcoal. Seek medical attention immediately. Burns to digits: Local infiltration of digits is not recommended, because of pain, disfigurement and potential complications. Alternative treatment methods follow:. Any burns to the eyes should be seen by an ophthalmologist, no matter how slight the injury seems.
If inhaled, HF can cause severe difficulty in breathing within seconds. Immediate treatment may be essential for survival. Administer nebulized 2.
Intubation equipment should also be available. Avoid mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing, as secondary burns may occur. Seek definitive care at an emergency facility familiar with treating HF burns as soon as possible. Be aware that the runoff from washing burns should be treated as contaminated. Do not allow this water to pool under the victim or contact any rescuer. No victim should be placed in an ambulance or taken to an emergency facility until decontamination is complete. Secondary burns to emergency responders, EMS and ED personnel have been reported due to incomplete decontamination.
Be sure to include any information on HF and all available medical information on the victim s for the emergency facility. Serum calcium levels should be drawn as soon as possible and closely monitored, along with other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, to gauge treatment effectiveness.
Normal total serum calcium levels in adults are Levels may vary from facility to facility. Cordarone amiodarone may be given to combat the ventricular arrhythmias associated with HF exposure. Traditionally, lidocaine has been ineffective. Below is an example of HF acid calcium gluconate antidote dosages for various routes of exposure. As stated earlier, all victims should be seen in an emergency facility familiar with the treatment protocols for HF exposures.
Standard treatment should include constant EKG monitoring, O2, and prophylactic eye and breathing treatments. Intravenous access should be established, and the victim should be monitored for the first 24 hours or longer, depending on exposure.
Do not rely on patient presentation as a determination of care needed. The long-term effects of a significant HF burn are still unknown. I am an unwitting guinea pig of sorts. So far, I have experienced end-stage kidney failure, osteoporosis, peripheral neuropathy, peripheral edema due to a compromised lymphatic system, a compromised immune system and other health problems. This doesn't even begin to account for the severe pain and disfigurement I continue to have.
The best way to avoid this trouble is to be prepared and follow a well-planned and practiced response. Acid tank cars for rail transport are of the tank-within-a-tank design. The rail tank cars for HF have product-specific linings to protect the inner tank from the product, and have acid-resistant fittings and unloading systems.
Semi-trailer loading and unloading fixtures are located on top of the trailer, usually at the back. Most over-the-road transporters of HF use a two-man crew who are trained and equipped for loading and unloading, as well as handling small spills. Blanchard K. Traveler Health, March 21, HF Medical Book. Honeywell International Inc. Hydrofluoric Acid. Jan 4, Hydrofluoric Acid Burns. Hydrogen Fluoride. Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital: Laboratory values.
N Engl J Med 15 , Martin H, Muller MJ. MJA 6 , Pyo RT. He has worked as a frontline firefighter and EMT to assistant fire chief and hazardous materials technician and paramedic. In , he became a registered nurse.
He also has over 15 years of experience working with HF acid in the oil refining industry. He was instrumental in initiating first aid protocols in the refinery emergency facility setting that ultimately would save his life. Sign in.
EMS World Expo. Current Issue. Issue Archives. Start Print Subscription. Renew Print Subscription. Start Digital Subscription. Patient Care. Expo on Demand. CE Articles. Online Product Guide. Contact Us. Advisory Board. About Us. Copied to clipboard. It is also employed in refining uranium for use as a nuclear fuel, in manufacturing various organic chemicals, in producing stainless steel, and for various other applications such as: Propellants and solvents Insecticide and fertilizer production Manufacture and reduction of chlorides Brewery to control fermentation Fabric industry for stain removal Leather industry for tanning Drug and dye production Manufacture of semiconductors.
Present household uses include: Rust remover Aluminum brighteners Heavy-duty cleansers. Use a Bier ischemic arm block technique to infuse the solution intravenously.
Release the cuff when any of the following conditions first occur: 1 pain from the digits resolves; 2 the cuff becomes more painful than the burn; or 3 20 minutes of ischemic time elapses. Treatment can be repeated after 4 hours, if needed. Continuous ECG and clinical monitoring are essential during this procedure. Intra-arterial calcium gluconate: Place an arterial catheter in the radial or brachial artery to perfuse the affected digits.
Follow with further infusions repeated after hours, if necessary. Several treatments may be needed. Exercise great care to ensure that the catheter is appropriately placed intravascularly i. In the form of hydrofluoric acid, the damage can be major.
Contact with the skin and eyes can cause deep, painful burns, even tissue loss. From an industrial point of view, corrosion caused by HF produces significant maintenance problems in facilities. As a result of this corrosion it makes it impossible to use the exhaust gases from the ovens as heat sources, with the resulting negative financial impact.
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