Podcast 706: Pepper Spray Decon

<p> </p> <p><strong>Contributor: Ramnik Dhaliwal, MD JD</strong></p> <p><strong>Educational Pearls:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Pepper spray is a highly irritating compound with active ingredient of capsaicin</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Techniques to help decontaminate and alleviate symptoms of an exposure include:</span></li> <li style="list-style: none; display: inline"> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Disrobing the patient to prevent further exposure</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Half milk of magnesia and half water mixture can be used to soothe the skin in the area of exposure</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Proparacaine followed by Morgan lens to irrigate the eye in adults</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Nasal cannula connected to a liter of normal saline can passively irrigate the eye in small children and other less than cooperating patients</span></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tidwell RD, Wills BK. Tear Gas and Pepper Spray Toxicity. [Updated 2020 Nov 4]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK544263/</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Summarized by John Spartz, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD</span></em></p> <p><br /> <br /></p>