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An easy way to remove solid chemical substances from skin
JBUR-4925; No. of Pages 2 burns xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/burns
Letter to the Editor
An easy way to remove solid chemical substances from skin
Sulfur compounds have acidifying characteristics in the environment. Sources of SO2, one of the sulfur compounds, include sulfidic metal processing and oil refining. Hydrogen sulfide, another sulfur compound, can be found in the wastewaters as dissolved sulfide, and can be accessed in biogas, natural gas, syngas or refinery gases as H2S [1]. Chronic exposure to the sulfur containing gases, i.e., sulfur dioxide, via inhalation route may cause chronic airflow obstructions. Bronchiolitis obliterans was also reported as the possible outcome of sulfur dioxide exposure [2]. Organic sulfur compounds may exist in commercial gasoline and diesel in large amounts, and those compounds may cause severe corrosion of equipment and reactors in oil processing [3]. Due to this, injury of the skin following the acute exposure to sulfur compounds would not be surprising. In this letter, a chemical burn after exposing an organic sulfur compound is presented. A 50-year-old man who works in a petrol refinery was admitted with a second-degree chemical burn located on the face; the entire right hemifacial area was covered with a yellowish semi-solid chemical material (Fig. 1). Adhesion between the hairy skin of the face and the chemical was noted. The patient stated that the corrosive agent was liquid sulfur and that agent was solidified rapidly after contacting to skin. Attempts at removing the material failed due to adhesion. To help the cleaning the skin, the chemical was broken into small pieces with a surgical forceps (Fig. 2A). The small fragments were easily removed from the skin by using an electric razor without injury (Figs. 2B and 3). The lesions were epithelized spontaneously with regular dressing changes. In conclusion, exposing to chemical materials that cause solidification after contacting to air rapidly may cause major injuries. The solid forms of those materials should be cleaned from the skin, but this process can be
quite painful and can cause further injuries to the skin. Using an electric razor would help the clinician to clean that kind of material and recommended to our colleagues.
Fig. 1 – The chemical substance (sulfur) on the right hemifacial region of the patient.
Please cite this article in press as: Aykan A, et al. An easy way to remove solid chemical substances from skin. Burns (2016), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.burns.2016.04.005
JBUR-4925; No. of Pages 2
2
burns xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
Fig. 2 – The removal of the chemical. (A) Breaking the semisolid chemical with forceps, (B) removal of the small segments with an electric razor.
references
[1] Janssen AJ, Ruitenberg R, Buisman CJ. Industrial applications of new sulphur biotechnology. Water Sci Technol 2001;44(8):85–90. [2] Weiss SM, Lakshminarayan S. Acute inhalation injury. Clin Chest Med 1994;15(March (1)):103–16. [3] Martins AV, Ramos JE, Coelho JA, Vidal CB, Cavalcante Jr CL, Azevedo DC. Metal-impregnated carbon applied as adsorbent for removal of sulphur compounds using fixedbed column technology. Environ Technol 2014;35(May–June (9–12)):1367–77.
Andac Aykan* Sedat Avsar Bilge Kagan Aysal Yalcin Bayram Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Medical Faculty, Ankara, Turkey *Corresponding author at: Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, General Tevfik Saglam Caddesi Etlik, Ankara, Turkey. Tel.: +90 505 672 53 33 E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Aykan) 30 March 2016 Accepted 5 April 2016 Fig. 3 – Photo of the patient after removal of the chemical.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2016.04.005 0305-4179/# 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest None.
Please cite this article in press as: Aykan A, et al. An easy way to remove solid chemical substances from skin. Burns (2016), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.burns.2016.04.005
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/burns
Letter to the Editor
An easy way to remove solid chemical substances from skin
Sulfur compounds have acidifying characteristics in the environment. Sources of SO2, one of the sulfur compounds, include sulfidic metal processing and oil refining. Hydrogen sulfide, another sulfur compound, can be found in the wastewaters as dissolved sulfide, and can be accessed in biogas, natural gas, syngas or refinery gases as H2S [1]. Chronic exposure to the sulfur containing gases, i.e., sulfur dioxide, via inhalation route may cause chronic airflow obstructions. Bronchiolitis obliterans was also reported as the possible outcome of sulfur dioxide exposure [2]. Organic sulfur compounds may exist in commercial gasoline and diesel in large amounts, and those compounds may cause severe corrosion of equipment and reactors in oil processing [3]. Due to this, injury of the skin following the acute exposure to sulfur compounds would not be surprising. In this letter, a chemical burn after exposing an organic sulfur compound is presented. A 50-year-old man who works in a petrol refinery was admitted with a second-degree chemical burn located on the face; the entire right hemifacial area was covered with a yellowish semi-solid chemical material (Fig. 1). Adhesion between the hairy skin of the face and the chemical was noted. The patient stated that the corrosive agent was liquid sulfur and that agent was solidified rapidly after contacting to skin. Attempts at removing the material failed due to adhesion. To help the cleaning the skin, the chemical was broken into small pieces with a surgical forceps (Fig. 2A). The small fragments were easily removed from the skin by using an electric razor without injury (Figs. 2B and 3). The lesions were epithelized spontaneously with regular dressing changes. In conclusion, exposing to chemical materials that cause solidification after contacting to air rapidly may cause major injuries. The solid forms of those materials should be cleaned from the skin, but this process can be
quite painful and can cause further injuries to the skin. Using an electric razor would help the clinician to clean that kind of material and recommended to our colleagues.
Fig. 1 – The chemical substance (sulfur) on the right hemifacial region of the patient.
Please cite this article in press as: Aykan A, et al. An easy way to remove solid chemical substances from skin. Burns (2016), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.burns.2016.04.005
JBUR-4925; No. of Pages 2
2
burns xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
Fig. 2 – The removal of the chemical. (A) Breaking the semisolid chemical with forceps, (B) removal of the small segments with an electric razor.
references
[1] Janssen AJ, Ruitenberg R, Buisman CJ. Industrial applications of new sulphur biotechnology. Water Sci Technol 2001;44(8):85–90. [2] Weiss SM, Lakshminarayan S. Acute inhalation injury. Clin Chest Med 1994;15(March (1)):103–16. [3] Martins AV, Ramos JE, Coelho JA, Vidal CB, Cavalcante Jr CL, Azevedo DC. Metal-impregnated carbon applied as adsorbent for removal of sulphur compounds using fixedbed column technology. Environ Technol 2014;35(May–June (9–12)):1367–77.
Andac Aykan* Sedat Avsar Bilge Kagan Aysal Yalcin Bayram Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Medical Faculty, Ankara, Turkey *Corresponding author at: Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, General Tevfik Saglam Caddesi Etlik, Ankara, Turkey. Tel.: +90 505 672 53 33 E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Aykan) 30 March 2016 Accepted 5 April 2016 Fig. 3 – Photo of the patient after removal of the chemical.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2016.04.005 0305-4179/# 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest None.
Please cite this article in press as: Aykan A, et al. An easy way to remove solid chemical substances from skin. Burns (2016), http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.burns.2016.04.005