Acid burn first aid help!

[raleena]

I was making soap a lil while ago and some of the new soap was in contact with my skin as i had takenn my gloves off to spoon the soap into moulds , i washed my hands in running water for a while and it felt slippery for a long while and now the nail on my thumb is yellow, feels a bit numb. Has anyone else experienced anything like this. Please advice...

[greannancrafts]

Always keep vinegar handy to neutralise any lye splashes.

Jane

[ayntresoaps]

Hi. Rinse with plenty of running water then, as Jane said, wash area with vinegar. We keep our safety gear on when pouring the soap and don't remove it til we've finished cleaning up. I would also recommend wearing long sleeves. Better to be safe than sorry, lye can cause some very nasty burns.

[Rosamundi]

The standard first aid procedure for chemical burns (either acid or alkali, as in the case of soapmaking) is to wash for the affected area for at least 20 minutes under running cool water, there should be no need to apply vinegar as a neutraliser as this too can sometimes make the burns worse. If it still burns repeat for another 20 minutes and if that fails go to the A&E dept.
First aid measures can also be found on the MSDS of the NaOH.

[just_mai]

NEVER use vinegar on burns, just wash in pl&Eenty of cold water apply ice wrapped in a tea towel, that will help take the chill out of the burn, if it's bigger than a 50p go to
a&e

[AnnieAnna]

Yes, I've done it, jewellery making, with nitric acid.
On the one hand stop worrying, your yellow nail will go back to normal.
On the other hand, it takes a....g....e....s. It has to grow out.
If you are young you feel ugly and if you are more mature you feel a fool.

I suggest starting a new craze for yellow nail varnish .

By the by, acid splashes on skin leave a brown patch which goes away quicker than the fingernail thing. Acid splashes on clothes are fun. Nothing happens for a while then a couple of days later your jumper or whatever is full of holes!

[raleena]

Thanks All!

Just got back from A&E, they said the water thing as well and I had already done this, after four hours of waiting they told me there was nothing they could do alkalai burns as it has already got into the tisuue at this point and to see my GP if it got worse??? Annie Anna, you made me smile inspite of the pain! I did use runny water for about 30 min, and then again and again... still the lye kept doing it's job! Hence this post, now my nail is not only yellow but it is slightly curled up and comin off from the sides, the horror! I took the gloves off because it was too slippery with the soap that had got on to it, Didn't want to drop the big pot as the grip was slippery, but I do feel like an Ugly Fool! I normally wear a old rain coat as well but didn't this time... I did use vinegar, maybe that caused further burns. don't know if I want to make soap again

[AnnieAnna]

The pain thing. Poor you.
I had something weird. I was cooking and got splashed with burning fat on my wrist. The pain was excrutiating. I had to keep in in cold water for TWO hours to get any relief. In the third hour the pain vanished, the burn showed red, then went brown. A week later that's rubbed off and it's shiny pink and fine. But usually 20 minutes does the trick. Weird...

OK forget the nail varnish. Gloves. Make gloves the next in thing

[raleena]

LOL...yes tht's an idea! I was thinking abt what I'm going to do next... make nice gloves!! thanks he hee...

[baines]

Lavender Oil is meant to be good for burns. I have used it. Not right away of course. Lots of cold water is the best thing ( and pain killers.) I burnt myself with a soldering iron years ago when making a tiara - not fun. But do be careful because they can become infected and need anibiotics. So keep an eye on it.

[removed10]

My experience (just a very small amount of lye milk got on my arm) was that it certainly stung, but hurt like hades when i put vinegar on it! Many sites say to do this...and in theory it sounds quite sensible. HOWEVER, my experience was that it made it hurt far worse. I think that while the vinegar may neutralize the lye, it really really stings and further inflames the raw tissue.

Since then, when little splashes have gotten on me, I simply rinse with cold running water for a minute or so. Once I had a little spot about that I actually put antibiotic ointment opn for a couple of days. I have never had a big burn, knock wood!

Hope your booboo feels better real soon!!

My husband recent;y bough me a super dooper respirator that filters lye vapors but it won't go on under my face shield...which I prefer to goggles as the steam up...

[indri]

The problem with sodium hydroxide is that as a solid when added to water it creates an exothermic reaction (gives off heat) and your skin contains water hence then burning so copious water is the only thing you can do. I have before just applied a cold compress to cool down the burn (if chemical - once the chemical is washed off) just to help ease the pain. I find that works better than painkillers.

[raleena]

Thanks all..much appreciated x