I am a chemist at a chemical manufacturing plant. I have 15 years of experience with chemicals burns to myself and others, escpecially caustic soda(sodiium hydroxide). Caustic Soda is really bad stuff!
Trust me on this, I have tried it numerous times with and without vinegar. The former chemist and owner had people putting vinegar on the burns it just causes more damage, scabs and eventually scars.
DO NOT PUT VINEGAR on it. It is best to remove any material dry or liquid with a clean, dry cloth first( no reaction and less caustic to neutralize or harm your skin). Remove any clothing. Rinse thoroughly with cool water for at least 15 minutes. After 5 minutes rinse again. Rinse again and again. You can not rinse with water enough. When rinsing is completed apply skin moisturizing lotion. Nothing fancy hear. The caustic will react with the lotion to some extent and not your skin. Continue to apply skin moisturizing lotions for at least 2 days.
These burns are often more itchy and slightly irritated than painful. So if you think you may have been exposed treat as if you did.
This will give you the best results.
DO NOT USE VINEGAR!
WATER LOTS OF WATER AN MOISTURIZING SKIN CREAM!
VINEGAR MAKES IT WORSE! I AM CHEMIST AT A CHEMICALS PLANT! THE COMPANY WAS TELLING PEOPLE TO USE VINEGAR ON SODIUM HYDROXIDE(CAUSTIC SODA) BURNS WHEN I STARTED HERE 15 YEARS AGO! THERE IS MUCH LESS DAMAGE AND SCARRING WITH WATER AND NO VINEGAR! HOPE YOUR FRIEND IS WELL SOON!
temp or no temp this should still be coverd under workers comp
You are supposed to apply a vinegar solution to affected areas prior to rinsing with water. Ive worked in the PPG natrium plant for years, and they are one of the biggest producers of chlor-alkali chemicals. Caustic being one of them, in every section of the plant, there are bottles of vinegar solution for this very purpose. at exposure to caustic, you are to apply the vinegar solution, it WILL neutralize it, you are then to remove all articles of clothing or the affected area and rinse thoroughly with water, then seek medical attention.
To the person who said "vinegar is a strong acid, just treat with water because it reacts as an acid"...that is wrong. Vinegar is a weak acid, if it were a strong acid, then putting it on your salad would be a very bad idea. I'm not sure about using vinegar to neutralize a concentrated base. I suppose as long as it isn't near your eyes it wouldn't hurt to try to neutralize it with a weak acidic solution like a citrus or acetic acid (in vinegar) or something like that. Water DOES act as an acid (and a base as well), but only to an extremely limited extent. For practical purposes, it does not work as an acid when you use it to treat Sodium Hydroxide burn. Water does two things 1.) it mechanically flushes the corrosive chemical away from the area. This is the single most important way that water treats chemical burns because of the speed at which it works (chemical burns occur rapidly) and why using running water is particularly useful. 2.) It also dilutes the sodium hydroxide. The concentration of a corrosive, strong base like NaOH is extremely important. You can have a very, very dilute solution (by dilute I mean that the chemical is mostly just water with a little bit of NaOH mixed in) and apply it to your skin with pretty much nothing happening (the outer layers of your skin are strong enough to protect you from a very dilute chemical). So by applying water you are mixing the water with the strong base and weakining it.
So the first thing you want to do (you want to act fast because very concentrated NaOH, or any highly concentrated strong acid or base, will do damage quickly) is find the nearest source of running water (like a bathroom sink) and flush the affected area for an extended period of time.
To the people who say not to try to neutralize the base because it'll cause heat and thus increase the burn, I assure you that the extent to which untreated NaOH burns your body will be much greater than that caused by any heat released from an acid-base neutralization reaction, considering the amounts we're talking about.
Fact of the matter is, you need to understand the chemicals that you are exposed to and read and understand the Material Safety Data Sheet that is provided by the people that provided the chemical. You can Google the MSDS for sodium hydroxide or ask your manager, they have to provide it.
Ok. So I get it that you have to rinse with a lot of water but why for so long? 15mins?
Surely a minute is enough to get rid of whatever solution is still on the skin.
Is this to fool the skin there is no burn to prevent blistering and other natural responses once a 'burn' has taken place or is it simply to make triple sure you've got it all off?
Would it matter if say there was only 5 seconds between being splashed and rinsing or a couple of minutes?
Actually he does know what he is saying, it instantly neutralises the reaction and stops the burning action of caustic - I work with all of these chemicals and many burns have been avoided using white wine or vinegar.
There is no real need for any antibiotic ointment unless it is a second degree or worse burn - and if that was the case, then he needs to see a doctor for treatment.
The first thing you should do in the treatment of a sodium hydroxide spill on your skin, is the place the affected part under running water for at least 15 minutes. This is a very corrosive substance and cause damage to your skin quickly. If there is a great deal of body area affected, you should stand in a shower, after removing all the affected clothing and shoes. The running water should flush most of the chemical away, but once again, you need to allow at least 15 minutes in the shower. Have someone call 911 immediately.
I would soak the area in seltzer. This will allow for the dissolved carbonic acid (H2CO3) to neutralize the base. The soapy feel of your skin will dissipate more quickly than if you use just water.
May I ask how it turned out for your hubby, as my hands were in beer line cleaner ( which is basically the same product)
Of course you will have pain, the Naoh has caused a burn. Rinse with water first, then apply common household vinegar. Its typically 10% solution.Not laboratory grade.You need the acid in the vinegar to change the pH of the extremely strong base.Sodium hydroxide is hygroscopic, meaning it readily absorbs moisture.Your body is mostly water-duh-so the stuff will absorb into your skin causing a deep burn.So its better to go ahead, endure the sting by using the vinegar and prevent the continuing damage to your flesh.Sodium hydroxide beads on the skin, improperly attended can cause 2nd & 3rd degree chemical burns.
thanks this helped me alot