Podcast 706: Pepper Spray Decon

Contributor: Ramnik Dhaliwal, MD JD

Educational Pearls:

• Pepper spray is a highly irritating compound with active ingredient of capsaicin
• Techniques to help decontaminate and alleviate symptoms of an exposure include:
• • Disrobing the patient to prevent further exposure
  • Half milk of magnesia and half water mixture can be used to soothe the skin in the area of exposure
  • Proparacaine followed by Morgan lens to irrigate the eye in adults
  • Nasal cannula connected to a liter of normal saline can passively irrigate the eye in small children and other less than cooperating patients

References

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/

Summarized by John Spartz, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD