Hydrofluoric Acid: Burns and Systemic Toxicity, Protective Measures, Immediate and Hospital Medical Treatment
Journal
Open access Macedonian journal of medical sciences
Date Issued
2018-11-25
Author(s)
Bajraktarova-Valjakova, Emilija
Korunoska-Stevkovska, Vesna
Georgieva, Silvana
Bajraktarova-Misevska, Cvetanka
Mijoska, Aneta
DOI
10.3889/oamjms.2018.429
Abstract
Hydrofluoric acid is a commonly used chemical in many industrial branches, but it can also be found as an ingredient in household products such as cleaning agents. Possessing high corrosive potential, HF acid causes burns and tissue necrosis, while when absorbed and distributed through the bloodstream, its extremely high toxic potential is expressed. Acute symptoms are often followed by pain, particularly in the case of skin burns, which intensiveness does not often correlate with the expressiveness of the clinical findings. Even exposure to low-concentrated solutions or gasses, or low-doses of high-concentrated acid, may provoke delayed systemic disorder which may eventually have a lethal outcome.