#cs gas

[3liza]

A randomized controlled trial comparing treatment regimens for acute pain for topical oleoresin capsaicin (pepper spray) exposure in adult v

In this study, there was no significant difference in pain relief provided by five different treatment regimens. Time after exposure appeare

Methods: We performed a single-blind, randomized human experiment evaluating the effectiveness of five different regimens for the treatment of topical facial OC exposure. Forty-nine volunteer, adult law enforcement trainees were exposed to OC during a routine training exercise and were randomized to one of five treatment groups (aluminum hydroxide-magnesium hydroxide [Maalox], 2% lidocaine gel, baby shampoo, milk, or water). After initial self-decontamination with water, subjects rated their pain using a 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS) and then every 10 minutes, for a total of 60 minutes. Subjects were blinded to previous VAS recordings. A two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) (treatment, time) with repeated measures on one factor (time) was performed using a 1.3-cm difference as clinically significant. Results: Forty-four men and five women, with an average age of 24 years, participated in the study. There was a significant difference in pain with respect to time (p < 0.001), but no significant interaction between time and treatment (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference in pain between treatment groups (p > 0.05).

eliza comments: this supports the observation that pain-inducing chemical weapon response is primarily time- and somatically-mediated. eg, none of this stuff actually "works" and any effects are related to time making the chemicals degrade. observations that "i used milk and it helped" are a false observation based on the fact that sitting there and waiting for the chemicals to wear off was working anyway, so putting milk on your skin/eyes in the meantime was assumed to have "worked" when it wasn't actually doing anything (other than the skin reaction to cool liquid being felt as "soothing" superficially).

the action of being treated by friendly medics will always help with injury regardless of the injury, its one of the cornerstones of medicine. it's very important for street medics to present a caring, confident, and gentle attitude towards injured people. street medics aren't medical doctors (except when they are, i know dozens of actual EMTs and MDs and RNs who go to protests specifically to provide medical care) but the principles are the same

i'm still looking for the paper i found years ago about buffered saline. the study above notably does not try saline as a treatment.

[all-action-all-picture]

One of my all-time favourite Formula 1 car liveries. The Team 7Up Jordan 191 driven here by Andrea De Cesaris at Hockenheim, Germany in 1991. Aside from its livery the Jordan 191 is probably best remembered for being the only F1 car in which I actually managed to finish making the Tamiya model kit of.

It's also known as the car in which Michael Schumacher made his F1 debut (Bertrand Gachot, the usual Jordan driver in the No. 32 car, had found himself temporarily unavailable owing to a CS Gas related matter). Art by Michael Turner.

RIP Eddie Jordan.

[nelc]

Members of the Royal Scots Regiment uses a 'Grantapult' to launch CS gas grenades for crowd control, Ulster, 1970.

[dispatchesfromtheclasswar]

🛑 [Video] Greek riot cops caught on doorbell camera throwing a CS gas grenade inside a block of flats during a protest

A shocking video has emerged on Twitter showing greek riot cops throwing a CS gas grenade inside a block of flats at Exarcheia during a protest in Athens, Greece on 6 December 2022. There have been many accusations in the past that police officers in Greece are involved in such criminal and deadly practices using CS gas in closed spaces but this time there is a video to prove it.

6 December protest: Back in 2008 a police murder sparked a string of riots that spread like wildfire all over Greece and inspired countless of solidarity actions and riots all over the globe for more than a month.

Everything started a few minutes after 9 pm, on the night of 6 December 2008, when a tensed argument between two cops and a group of youngsters ended with the policemen leaving the scene, but only for the murderers to park their patrol car a few blocks away and return to confront the kids with their guns. One of the two cops (Korkoneas) aimed towards the kids and fired two shots. One of the bullets struck 15 years old Alexis Grigoropoulos in the heart and he fell dead.

This murder in the heart of Exarchia, an area of Athens frequented by anarchists in Greece, sparked a string of riots that spread like wildfire all over Greece and inspired countless of solidarity actions and riots in more than 70 cities around the world for more than a month.

For most Greeks this is a moment marked deeply in memory, since most remember exactly what they were doing when the news of the police murder shook them like a collective electric shock. During those first days, the tens of thousands of protesters that took part did not realize that they were taking part in something that would profoundly define the years to come.

The events were recorded in modern history as "The December Revolt" or "The December Rebellion".

[canmom]

do you have advice on managing risk and exposure to CS chemicals for people with respiratory conditions like asthma?

This is, unfortunately, what makes CS agents ‘less lethal’ rather than ‘non lethal’. There’s things we can do but there’s only so far we can mitigate the risks.

The draft protocol (not yet reviewed by a medical professional) is to check for existing respiratory conditions, and give their inhaler if they have one in the first instance. Unfortunately, UK law is that you are only allowed to carry an asthma inhaler if you have asthma, so we can’t include an inhaler in our kit by default (since we are searched by cops more often than any of us would like).

Beyond that, we’d try to get them clear of the CS gas as soon as possible (without inciting a panicked dash, the other major danger of CS gas), and stay with the person, to call for an ambulance if their breathing is worsening. Here’s our draft protocol if you want to take a look:

The most significant danger from riot control agents is to the respiratory system. You must Look listen and feel for breathing issues, and move anyone having trouble breathing away from the incident as fast as possible.

If someone is having trouble breathing, you should try and find out if they have a preexisting respiratory condition, especially asthma, by asking them or their friends. If they do, give them their inhaler.

If someone, when clear of the agent, continues to worsen in their breathing or begins to lose consciousness, get definitive care.

(This is part of the Breathing section of your accident procedure)

Then, it’s general first aid principles: we would try to keep the airway clear (e.g. by tilting the head and lifting the chin, or if we suspect a spinal injury, by immobilising the head and doing a ‘jaw thrust’) and monitor their breathing (look, listen and feel).

[3liza]

treating riot control agents after being exposed during protests: its complicated

i intend to make a larger post that acts as a "review" of everything i've read in the literature about riot control agents generally, but the news isn't great. the super short version is doctors have been trying to sound the alarm for years about riot control agents of all kinds being far more dangerous than advertised, and the extreme diversity of the agents chemically means there is no one good treatment for all of them, other than basic general decontamination. this is contributing significantly to the confusion and misinformation that gets spread about treating riot control agent exposure amongst civilians

i will come back to this post and create a big reblog chain with whatever i find. the short version is "its complicated, unfortunately". please do me a favor and do not reblog this with additions like "well i heard vinegar on a handkerchief worked so everyone should do that" because thats exactly the sort of misinformation* i'm trying to avoid here

* this could work for some exposures but is not good general medical advice that is broadly applicable to all situations, therefore could be unhelpful or dangerous when applied out of specific contexts

[3liza]

CS "gas" is not a gas ED1TOR,-The case report by Breakell and Bodiwala usefully highlights several dangers of CS.' However, by constantly referring to the agent as a gas they reduce the logic of many of their arguments. CS is a solid (melting point 94-950C), though it may behave as a gas when dispersed as a fine powder from a pyrotechnic device. In Britain, however, CS is deployed dissolved in a solvent. When the solvent has evaporated, solid crystals of CS remain and may be deposited on the skin. This is usually the situation when the patient reaches hospi- tal. Fanning with air, wiping exposed areas with dry tissue, and removal of clothing will be the most effective remedies. Clearly this would not be appropriate or adequate decontamina- tion after exposure to a gas. By using the term CS and not calling it CS gas, people will understand the logic behind the emergency care of exposed victims. JOHN HENRY Department ofAccident and Emergency Medicine, St Marys Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 INY

The authors reply We agree entirely with Professor John Henry's comments that CS "gas" is not a gas, and ref- erence to this fact was made in the discussion.' We used the term CS gas due to the popular- ity and widespread use in the medical literature, not as a description of its chemical properties. We made the point that fanning with air (electric fan) caused contamination of the accident and emergency department and CS powder (crystals) converting to a solution on the surface of the eye should be managed by eye irrigation rather than air currents.2 1 Breakell A, Bodiwalwa GG. CS gas exposure in a crowded night club: the consequences for an accident and emergency department. J Accid Emerg Med 1998;15:56-7. 2 Yih JP. CS gas injury to the eye. BMJ 1995;311:

funny little slapfight between doctors in a letters section, but brings up important points

[3liza]

Methods: The first (CS) group of six police officers was exposed to CS only. The second (preexposure) group of eight sprayed their faces with an aqueous, hypertonic, amphoteric, and chelating solution before CS exposure. The third (postexposure) group of eight sprayed their faces with an aqueous, hypertonic, amphoteric, and chelating solution after CS exposure. The time between exiting the CS cloud and arriving at the "ready for action" checkpoint was measured. Their facial pain both inside the CS cloud and at the checkpoint was assessed (0-10 points). Results: The pain level inside the CS cloud was significantly lower in the preexposed group (5.6 ± 1.1; p = 0.01) than in the CS group (9.7 ± 0.5) and in the postexposure group (9.1 ± 0.4) where it was similar. The time interval between CS exposure and arrival at the checkpoint in the preexposure group (1:26 ± 0:44 min) was significantly shorter than both in the CS group (2:28 ± 0:25 min; p = 0.04) and postexposure group (2:30 ± 0:48 min; p = 0.02) where it was not different. The residual pain at the checkpoint in the preexposure (1.1 ± 0.4) and postexposure (1.4 ± 0.7) groups was similar with a significant lower pain level than in the CS group (2.3 ± 0.5; p = 0.02). Conclusion: CS decontamination with an aqueous, hypertonic, amphoteric, and chelating solution reduces facial pain, whereas prevention with it reduces pain and recovery time.

eliza comments: Diphoterine is a commercially-prepared product specifically indicated to treat chemical injury. It is available to buy but extremely expensive and probably completely inaccessible to protestors.