THE TREATMENT OF ACID AND ALKALI BURNS

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Abstract
The hind leg of an anesthetized rat was dipped into acid or alkali of strong, moderate, or weak concentration for a measured time. Of 3 groups of animals, the excess chemical was wiped off the controls; in the other groups the chemical was neutralized with a dilute solution of bicarbonate or of acetic acid, or the animal was washed vigorously with water. Strong concentrations were needed for striking comparative results as the effects of the caustics did not vary directly with the concentration. HNO3 and H2SO4 were more vigorous caustics than HC1, both quantitatively and chronometrically. Glacial acetic and trichloracetic acids seemed more toxic, particularly the latter, which showed evidence of a phenol-like protoplasmic poisoning action. Latent periods of NaOH and KOH were relatively quite long. Treatment by washing with water was universally more effective than neutralization. The latter method caused extreme sensory stimulation. Of animals washed with water the only ones to die were those which had been exposed for long periods to very high concentrations of the organic acids. The author also made observations on 3 human subjects to study the latent periods of cutaneous sensory stimulation to the caustics used above.

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