I Got Burned...

propressure

New member
Hey, everyone. I might be posting in the wrong area. I also posted this on another BB, so if you have seen it... sorry.

As I am relatively new here, this may already have been discussed and I just missed it. But it may help someone else avoid the problems I had so, here goes...



I got burned with Hydrofluoric Acid (Aluminum Brightener), a few years ago. Did not burn at all when it hit my hands. I was wearing short gloves (like NFL players wear) with rubber palms and mesh backs. I was wearing the gloves mainly to keep my hands clean. Anyway... the acid got inside the gloves, did not hurt, so I did not worry. Then when I was driving home a few hours later my hands started hurting. A few more hours and it felt like someone was bashing my hands with a hammer. I did some internet research... and went straight to the Emergency Room. My hands showed no signs of damage on the outside. Did not turn red. Skin did not come off. I told the Doctor that it was Hydroflouric Acid, not Hydrochloric or Muriatic. They did not listen. Gave me a shot for pain and sent me home. Two days later, my fingernails had turned black, I could not close my hands. My hands were so swollen I could not see knuckles. I went to see my regular Doctor and he told me that, due to how long it had been, what ever damage that was done, was done. There was really nothing left to do at this point. There was a treatment, it had to be done in the first few hours. Would have saved me a lot of pain. Everything is fine now. Except my knuckles feel Arthritic. That may just be my age, though.

A quick, on the spot treatment is to soak the area in Milk. It helps to balance out the effect of the acid's pulling the calcium from your body.

Sorry so long. Just thought it might help someone else someday.
smile.gif





Here is a link for treatment in case it ever happens to someone else: http://membership.acs.org/F/FLUO/hfmedbook.pdf
 
If it's noted in your file that you told the doctor that it was Hydrfloric Acid and he improperly treated you, I would sue his ass!! Dam emergency room doctors.
 
If you deal with HF acid, you need to keep Calcium Gluconate with you in a cooler or ice chest.

The HydroFluoric acid attacks the calcium in your bones and muscles. By ingesting the Calcium Gluconate after being exposed, it will help some until you get to the ER.

You should have all your MSDS sheets along with special instructions for special chemicals like this so if the accident happens, just have the special sheet ready for the ER team to help you out more.

We had HF acid training every year back at the refinery, there was a unit that had the pure stuff and we all had to know what to do in case of exposure.
 
Hey, everyone. I might be posting in the wrong area. I also posted this on another BB, so if you have seen it... sorry.

As I am relatively new here, this may already have been discussed and I just missed it. But it may help someone else avoid the problems I had so, here goes...



I got burned with Hydrofluoric Acid (Aluminum Brightener), a few years ago. Did not burn at all when it hit my hands. I was wearing short gloves (like NFL players wear) with rubber palms and mesh backs. I was wearing the gloves mainly to keep my hands clean. Anyway... the acid got inside the gloves, did not hurt, so I did not worry. Then when I was driving home a few hours later my hands started hurting. A few more hours and it felt like someone was bashing my hands with a hammer. I did some internet research... and went straight to the Emergency Room. My hands showed no signs of damage on the outside. Did not turn red. Skin did not come off. I told the Doctor that it was Hydroflouric Acid, not Hydrochloric or Muriatic. They did not listen. Gave me a shot for pain and sent me home. Two days later, my fingernails had turned black, I could not close my hands. My hands were so swollen I could not see knuckles. I went to see my regular Doctor and he told me that, due to how long it had been, what ever damage that was done, was done. There was really nothing left to do at this point. There was a treatment, it had to be done in the first few hours. Would have saved me a lot of pain. Everything is fine now. Except my knuckles feel Arthritic. That may just be my age, though.

A quick, on the spot treatment is to soak the area in Milk. It helps to balance out the effect of the acid's pulling the calcium from your body.

Sorry so long. Just thought it might help someone else someday.
smile.gif





Here is a link for treatment in case it ever happens to someone else: http://membership.acs.org/F/FLUO/hfmedbook.pdf


Good Stuff
 
Calcium Glucanate

As a seller of products containing HF we have always cautioned users that any exposure is considered sever. I ALWAYS offer the cream we carry to every customer purchasing a product containing HF and am always surprised at how many pass on it. :nono: Heed what is being said here if you use the stuff. Long pants, sleeves, faceshields, eye glasses, e.i. no exposed skin. HF exposure is not only painful, but can be deadly. Used correctly, it can make cleaning jobs go great, but not used with respect can end very badly. We want everyone to be safe out there. If you don't understand a product you may be using, be sure and ask your distributor about it. If they can't tell you about it, find a different distributor. I'm sure most will be glad to help you understand a product you get from them. Have fun out there but stay safe!
 
As a seller of products containing HF we have always cautioned users that any exposure is considered sever. I ALWAYS offer the cream we carry to every customer purchasing a product containing HF and am always surprised at how many pass on it. :nono: Heed what is being said here if you use the stuff. Long pants, sleeves, faceshields, eye glasses, e.i. no exposed skin. HF exposure is not only painful, but can be deadly. Used correctly, it can make cleaning jobs go great, but not used with respect can end very badly. We want everyone to be safe out there. If you don't understand a product you may be using, be sure and ask your distributor about it. If they can't tell you about it, find a different distributor. I'm sure most will be glad to help you understand a product you get from them. Have fun out there but stay safe!

Thank you. In defense of my chem guy, I was warned. I was new to the biz and thought, "Yeah, yeah. And you should wear gloves when you do the dishes, too. I'm a big, strong guy. My hands are tough!" Big mistake. I had almost forgotten about this, as it happened a few years ago. I hope that all of these post in this thread keep people safe!
 
Thanks for sharing that with us Chuck.
 
Be careful of inhaling the mist as well it can be just as damaging or more. Any time I use the product I make sure to drink lots of milk to help offset any incidental contact that I may have. I had an over exposure issue once when I first started in the biz and have been very careful since. Not quite as bad as Chuck but it could have been deadly if I hadn't reacted fast, good thing I was working at a dairy with free milk available.
 
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