Pepper spray: effect and risks
Many people choose pepper spray as a self-defense weapon because it is cheap, easy to buy and to use.
PEPPER SPRAY FOR SELF-DEFENSE: EFFECTIVENESS AND RISKS OF USE
Pepper spray are produced in various sizes and spray modes, as well as come in different sizes: small, made to be used against one person or animal for self-defense, or bigger cans and spray grenades s that can be thrown or shot into the targeted space: this type of pepper/irritant sprays are often used by law enforcement agencies.
The main ingredient of pepper spray is capsaicin, which is found in hot peppers, such as jalapeno and green chili.
THE EFFECT OF PEPPER SPRAY FOR THE PERSON
How does the pepper spray affect a person? Pepper spray irritates eyes, skin and mucous membranes. Contact with the eyes causes pain, redness, lacrimation, inability to open the eyes and sensitivity to light. Exposure to the skin can cause pain, redness, swelling and itching. Inhalation can cause coughing, shortness of breath, irritation of the nose and throat, as well as a runny nose. These effects are usually moderate and temporary and last from a few minutes to several hours. However, more serious injuries are possible, including corneal abrasions, shortness of breath and blisters. People with lung diseases, such as asthma, may experience more serious respiratory effects after exposure to pepper spray.
WHEN BEING AFFECTED BY THE PEPPER SPRAY
It is not uncommon for the hospitals to get reports about unintentional use of pepper spray. As it happens, children unintentionally spray themselves or people next to them after handling pepper spray without supervision, teenagers play with pepper spray and misjudge its potency(often at school), and adults accidentally spray them indoors without sproper ventilation.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published recommendations on how to protect yourself and what to do in case of exposure to pepper spray. These include recommendations to leave the room where tear gas was sprayed and go out into the fresh air. If the spray was used indoors, doors and windows should be opened immediately to provide ventilation. In case of contact with the skin, take off the clothes and quickly wash the skin with plenty of soap and water. It is necessary to avoid transferring pepper from clothes to the skin when removing it over the head. The eyes should be rinsed for 10–15 minutes with water at room temperature. Contact lenses should be removed and discarded. Glasses and jewelry should be removed and washed with soap and water. Contaminated clothing should be placed in a plastic bag without touching it with your hands.
Rinse the nose to reduce irritation. Irritation of the throat can be reduced by drinking a cool liquid. If you are experiencing difficulty breathing, chest pain or constant pain in the eyes, immediately consult a doctor.
USE OF THE PEPPER SPRAY BY THE POLICE DURING TRAINING AND SERVICE
During training, US police officers are exposed to pepper spray. After reviewing the results of such exercises, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration “concluded that exposure to pepper spray during training poses an unacceptable health risk,” as the concequence of injures among some police officers. For some of them the symptoms were reporten for over a week. Acute symptoms included asthma, chest pain and loss of consciousnes and painful sensations in the eyes.
In another report on fatalities and injuries during detentions, the use of pepper spray was named as a contributing factor to injury among suspects. This is especially true for people with asthma: in these cases it was a contributing factor to two of the 63 well-documented deaths among suspects after the use of pepper spray.
Since the available reports only look into the short-term effects of the controlled and short pepper spray exposure against on healthy people, it isn`t objective to be extrapolating them to the real world situations and to expect the same outcomes, since in reality people with asthma, obesity and many other concomitant diseases can be exposed to a longer and close-range exposure. The controlled studies also don`t take into consideration that desorientation and pain experienced after being peppersprayed can also cause the subject to receive injuries.
