Acid Attacks on the Rise in England

[Chance]

From the Evening Standard:

A leading plastic surgeon today said the number of patients he had treated for acid attacks had reached “epidemic” levels in London.

Professor Peter Dziewulski, clinical director at St Andrews Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns, said there had been an ‘“explosion” of cases involving noxious or corrosive substances since the start of last year.

At the centre in Chelmsford, he looks after Londoners as well as patients from eastern England. Last year he treated 20 patients for injuries caused by chemical burns and has already seen the same number this year, with 10 needing surgery including skin grafts.

It follows a spate of attacks leaving victims scarred or even blind.

East Ham MP Stephen Timms led a debate in the Commons calling for tighter regulation and tougher sentences for those convicted of acid attacks.

Today Professor Dziewulski backed the move, likening the use of corrosive substances to knife crime.

He said: “This sort of attack seems more common particularly in London and the South-East where there is now an epidemic. What worries me is that we have seen a slow increase in attacks until last year and this year, where there’s been an explosion in the number of cases. This is the tip of the iceberg and we are seeing more serious cases.

“It is a complex issue because you can’t ban the products people use in their homes. It’s a bit like knife crime in that respect. There is a lot of talk about restricting access for youngsters who would need to show ID.

“No one thing will stop this happening but we can restrict access and improve legislation so people are properly penalised if they are caught doing it.”

....

A total of 455 acid attacks were reported to Scotland Yard last year — a rise of 74 per cent — with 20 people convicted of offences but more than a third of perpetrators never caught.

This is a fairly common thing in India, if I understand correctly: man makes a pass at a woman, woman turns man down, acid to face so no one will ever love her again. Yet another example of how people will always find efficient ways of fucking each other up.

Any medical types about have insight into treating these types of injuries? This seems especially gruesome.

[greyghost]

Greg Ellifritz linked the following article in his Weekend Knowledge Dump: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a7841476.html

[NEPAKevin]

While in college, I worked at a convenience store and one of the vendors who was an owner/operator, little skinny dude, told me a story about how years prior, there was a string of delivery truck hijackings where they, robbed and beat up the drivers. Even though he owned the franchise, having a gun on their branded vehicles would have been a violation of the contract, however, they were allowed to have auto supplies. So, he bought concentrated battery acid and put it in glass jars and kept them under his seat. He claimed that one night they tried to rob him and he threw the acid into their faces as the robbers slid open the door of his Grumman truck and then was able to get away from their road block. Might have been BSing but he got a crazy look on his face when he got to that part.

[peterb]

Flushing the affected area with lots of water for a long time is the best treatment you can improvise on scene. You probably won't know what the agent is, so dilution is the safest route.

Strong bases (caustics)can be worse than acids for tissue destruction.