Chemical assault and skin/eye burns: Two representative cases, report from the Acid Survivors Foundation, and literature review

Chemical assault is a significant problem throughout the world, resulting in disfigurement, sometime blindness or vision impairment, and constituting a major economic burden on otherwise overwhelmed health services in developing countries. Two representative cases are presented here. One involved domestic spouse abuse with an acid and the second involved a teen-aged female assaulted with an acid, perhaps for retribution over a local judicial matter. Such atrocities have a world-wide scope, which is reviewed here. Preventive measures are the most appropriate response. However, when such chemical assaults do occur, active measures to mitigate or negate their effects deserve consideration. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.