Accidentally Came In Contact With Pepper Spray: What To Do?
In today's uncertain time, everyone is recommended to keep pepper sprays with themselves to avoid such potentially life-threatening situations. However, accidents happen. They happen due to the sole reason of being not careful enough with situations or people. And same is the case with the accidents related to pepper sprays. Basically being the irritant, pepper spray effects include a burning sensation in the eyes and throat, which leads to watery eyes, a cough, and even gagging at times.
What one should do in case he/she has accidentally sprayed pepper spray on is what we have mentioned below. Let’s read.
1. Leave the contaminated area instantly
First and foremost, don’t panic. In such a situation, it is tough not to, still, try as panicking would decrease your chance of thinking straight and in the right direction. Next, It's imperative to leave the contaminated area and get fresh air to stop further inhaling the pepper spray residue suspended in the contaminated air.
2. Wash the affected area
The next best thing to do is to wash the affected area with clean water, including the eyes. Washing with clean water would help remove the remaining pepper spray from the skin or eyes. Also, to get relief from the burning sensation, using cold water would help.
3. Blot with a towel don’t rub
While drying the affected area, it is strongly advised not to rub; instead, pat dry. Rubbing can aggravate the skin-burning sensation, while bloating would simply dry out without causing any such effect. The same is the instruction in case of eyes come in contact with the pepper spray.
4. Remove contaminated clothing
After washing the affected area, the person who accidentally got sprayed must change the contaminated clothes. It will ensure that the person won’t get again in touch with the oleoresin capsaicin, the key constituent of pepper spray, present on the contaminated clothes.
5. Wash with soap and water to remove the remaining
In the case of an external affected area, washing it with soap and water can help. And if the irritation in the eyes persists, using mild or no-tear shampoo can also be used.
6. Don’t apply any lotion or cream to soothe the affected area
Refrain from applying any soothing cream or lotion on the skin of the affected area; it may lock the capsaicin in the skin that will not let the skin irritation stop.
7. Sipping milk or juice
Furthermore, to get relief from the burning sensation internally, mouth or throat, it is recommended to take sips of milk or fruit juice. The lactose sugar in milk and sucrose in the juice is effective in trapping the oleoresin capsaicin and effectively letting the person get relief from the burning sensation.
How long does the effect last?
Generally, it is said that the pepper spray lasts for a few minutes. However, depending on the amount and intensity/concentration of the key component of pepper spray, the burning sensation is reported to subside in a day.
To Avoid Accidental Spray
Keeping a personal defense weapon is crucial. Pepper spray is a weapon against the unforeseeable uncertain situation and should be treated likewise. Keeping the spray with care is crucial, as accidents are also unforeseeable. That’s why we must stay conscious about keeping the spray in a way that it wouldn’t become a problem for us. So, when buying pepper spray, always look for the feature that would ensure not to let mishaps, like accidental spray, happen.
POM Industries have come up with a user-friendly design for pepper sprays. These pepper spray designs have the potential to bring down the cases in which the user may accidentally spray pepper spray. POM pepper spray comes with a flip top. It greatly reduces the chances of accidental fire. Buy your palm-size personal defense weapon from POM Industries today!