Acid Attack First Aid Tips And Tricks

How should you treat acid burns??

The most important thing you can do in the event of an acid attack is to douse the victim in running water, rather than use a wet cloth.

------ The water dilutes the acid, and so it's important to keep refreshing with new, clean water, as quickly as possible.




                               

------ The most important thing you can do in the event of an acid attack is douse the victim's wounds in fresh, running water for as long as possible
------ "If you see someone exposed to acid don't try and brush it off with your hands, or you'll end up burned yourself.

------"If the substance is in powder form just brush it off, using a piece of clothing to protect your skin."

------And it's not just acidic liquids that are used in attacks - very alkaline substances can be used too.

------ Call 911 or emergency services immediately. While you can provide some assistance to the victim, it’s critical to get professionals on the scene as soon as possible. Use your own phone to make the call and put it on the speaker. Or, ask another person to make the call and relay the information to the dispatcher.
                       For example, when speaking to emergency services you might say, “I’ve just witnessed                         an acid attack on a female victim.”

------  Rinse out an affected eye by holding it under running water. If acid gets into the eye, it can burn through the cornea and cause blindness. If you suspect that the victim’s eye has acid on it, have them bend their head downwards. Pour a stream of clean water over the eye for 20 minutes or as long as possible.


Campaign group Stop Acid Attacks advise people follow these guidelines, in the event they are victims of, or witness an acid attack:

\/ Immediately rinse the affected area with fresh water or saline (saltwater) solution - always make sure this source is uncontaminated
\/ Keep washing the burned body part with cool water until the pain begins to subside. This can take around 45 minutes
\/ Take off any clothes/jewellery that have made contact with the acid
\/ As tempting as it is to add cream to give some relief, this could affect the treatment prescribed by doctors
\/ If possible, loosely wrap the burn area in sterilised gauze, which helps prevent the wound from contamination
\/ After hospital treatment, patients are advised to stick to a strict aftercare regime - which includes changing dressings on a regular basis
\/ In serious cases, doctors may prescribe physiotherapy for victims whose nervous system has been affected by the burn
\/ Others will be offered skin grafts to help reduce symptoms and cosmetic signs of the attack
\/ As acid assaults are traumatic, patients may also be advised to seek counselling

What should you NOT do in the event of an acid attack?

------ You may think milk could act as a soothing remedy, in the event of an acid burn, but experts advise it's a bad idea.

------ Milk is generally alkaline, though as it goes off it becomes more acidic.

------When alkaline milk comes into contact with acid it will cause an exothermic reaction, which creates more heat and can do more damage.

------Plus, milk could increase the risk of infection.
       So, always, always stick to running water - and lots of it.

Tips

It’s best to leave the burn wounds open prior to a victim receiving medical attention. But, if you need to cover them, use a non-fibrous fabric or a plastic cling film.

Warnings

Unless you have specialized training in treating this kind of trauma, don't try to neutralize the acid with anything other than water.

Don’t put any lotion or cream on to the injured areas. This will only make it more difficult for emergency professionals and doctors to treat the wounds.

                                                       

Success stories of acid attack survivors

SUCCESS STORIES: THE SURVIVORS - ACID ATTACK

In the previous posts, we have talked about one of the survivor named Laxmi Agarwal. Many of us have known her because of the movie Chhapaak. I am also one of those who came to know about the seriousness of these acts by the movie. But I didn't want anyone of us to be limited to the only success story of Laxmi Agarwal. There are many other of the warriors in between us who have fought this breakdown and injury and have succeeded in their life.

Here are some of the success stories from our brave survivors:

1) Anmol Rodriguez:  Burnt as a baby, this acid attack survivor is now a fashion model

Anmol was just two months old when her father threw acid at her mother, who died from the burns. Baby Anmol, who was on her lap, was left with a disfigured face, permanent scars and nowhere to go.

                          


Anmol was raised in an orphanage that added to the difficulties of socializing and making friends. She even had to quit her job because of the discrimination she faced. Today, she is also a fashion icon. She has modeled for several Instagram and YouTube channels and is currently the face of an online brand’s newly launched nightwears. Rodriguez said that acid can only change our face but not ruin our soul. “We are the same inside out and we should accept ourselves for who we are and live our lives happily,” said she.

2) Daulat Bi Khan:  How acid attack survivor Daulat Bi Khan rose from the ashes to help other women like her live with dignity

26-year old make-up artist Daulat was attacked by her own elder sister, her husband, and son in retaliation to some property issues. After she recovered, she started looking for a job but had no success. Daulat co-founded the NGO Acid Attack Survivor Saahas Foundation in Mumbai providing counseling, education and employment opportunities to other survivors. The NGO has till now empowered as many as 26 acid attack survivors.

Nine years ago, when Daulat, a 26-year-old makeup artist, was sitting on a sofa, her family members threw acid on her face. Daulat’s mother was living with her sister and brother-in-law in Mumbai. The couple was not treating her well, and when Daulat questioned their actions, they retaliated by hurling acid on her face and disfiguring it. Despite the traumatic incident and all the consequences that followed, Daulat stood strong. And, not only did she stand strong, she decided to help other survivors of acid attacks deal with their circumstances as well.

3) Reshma Qureshi:

Reshma was 17 when she was attacked with acid. In May 2014 she was at the railway station in her hometown, Mau Aimain, returning from Allahabad after writing her 10th board exam and a group of four men that included her sister’s husband hurled acid on her face and disfigured it permanently. Reportedly, her brother-in-law mistook her for her sister. Reshma fought with depression for a long time after the attack.

                                   

Make your heart beautiful. Beauty is not just about how you look. – Reshma Qureshi

Reshma made her modeling debut in the online campaign #EndAcidSale which was a big hit. She has also appeared in YouTube videos to condemn the rampant selling of acids in markets of India, spread the need for strict sale regulation on acids. She grabbed media attention across the globe in 2016 when she walked the ramp at New York Fashion Week. Reshma is a vlogger too and has recently written a book titled Being Reshma describing her journey out of the depression. She said in an interview, “Make your heart beautiful. Beauty is not just about how you look.”

4) Dolly:

The acid eats flesh – acid attacks can blind and leave a person unrecognizable. In India, it’s estimated that there are 1,000 such attacks every year, maybe even more. In Agra, a group of strong women, all survivors of acid attacks, have come together to run a cafe and tell their stories. One among them is 15-year-old Dolly, a smiling young waitress who works at Sheroes cafe in Agra.

Dolly was 12 and in class four when she was attacked by a 25-year-old man named Pradeep who stalked her and passed lewd comments at her. The attack has damaged her facial tissues and nostrils and even today she finds it difficult to breathe. After restricting herself to her house for about a year, Dolly joined Sheroes café in Agra and began working with other acid attack survivors. Reportedly, she has also resumed her education. The accused was imprisoned in 2016. In a brave move, Dolly wrote a letter to him saying, “You burned my face, but not my will to live. You cannot throw acid on that. I will fight this, not only for myself but for other girls, so they do not lose their courage before people like you.”

There are many more stories like as those described above, search them, I guarantee you will feel proud of them.

The best thing you can see in the above post and the story that how beautiful these girls are, the smile on their faces, the courage, the confidence; which is not easily found in us. 

To live in world and earn respect, the first thing we need is a confidence to stand on our own feet and that's what these girls did. They have already won the fight against the world and winning the rewards as respect from people all over the world. 

SALUTE TO THESE WARRIORS!

India's attempt to stop acid attacks

INDIA'S ATTEMPT TO STOP ACID ATTACKS:

- एसिड अटैक हिंसा के सबसे जघन्य रूपों में से एक है, और महिलाएं विशेष रूप से इसका लक्ष्य हैं।

 - यह दुनिया भर में एक समस्या है, लेकिन दक्षिण एशिया में सबसे ज्यादा प्रचलित है।

 - सबसे भीषण हमलों में से एक लक्ष्मी अग्रवाल पर था, जो केवल 15 साल का था जब एक 32 वर्षीय व्यक्ति ने उसकी अग्रिमों को अस्वीकार करने के लिए उस पर एसिड फेंक दिया था।

 - वह वापस लड़ी और सुनिश्चित किया कि अपराधी को सलाखों के पीछे डाल दिया जाए।

 - लक्ष्मी के मामले ने भारत के लिए एसिड हमलों के खिलाफ विशिष्ट कानूनों को तैयार करने का मार्ग प्रशस्त किया। 

- 2014 में, लक्ष्मी को मिशेल ओबामा से इंटरनेशनल वुमन ऑफ करेज अवार्ड मिला, जो उस समय संयुक्त राज्य - अमेरिका की पहली महिला थीं।

-  उन्हें NDTV Indian of the Year भी कहा गया। 

- उसी वर्ष, उन्होंने बचे लोगों की मदद के लिए एक एनजीओ, छांव फाउंडेशन की स्थापना की।



GOVERNMENT POLICIES TO HANDLE ACID ATTACKS:

National governments hold the ultimate responsibility for introducing and implementing laws and policies around acid violence against women and girls. Therefore governments should be, held accountable for doing so. They are also well placed to achieve change on violence against women and girls. The obligation for states to prevent violence against women and girls and to provide comprehensive services to survivors of such violence was established as a ‘due diligence’ standard by General Recommendation No. 19 of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1992.

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Question: What did India's government do while rape cases were at an extreme?Answer: They made laws to stop the sales of acid openly in shops and many more.

Below are some rules and regulations formed in favor of an acid attack survivor:

    1.  In 2013, The Model Poisons Possession and Sale Rules were framed under the Poisons  Act, 1919 to regulate the sale of acid and other corrosive substances. 

    2. Any person found selling acids in violation of the procedure prescribed under the Model    Rules on Possession and Sales of Acids, 2013 shall be liable to the punishment which may be imprisonment for one month for a first-time offense and for a term which may extend to six months for any subsequent offenses.

    3. Other countries that faced high incidences of acid attacks have imposed a total ban on  Acid sales.

   4.  In 2011 Cambodia enacted an Acid Control Law and under Articles 5 and 8 of that law,  unless a person has a license or letter issued by the competent authority, they shall not be allowed to buy, sell, use, store, distribute, transport or import acid. 

   5.  Bangladesh enacted an Acid Crime Prevention Act in 2002 to regulate acid sales throughout its territory. Indian efforts at regulating acid sales appear piecemeal, scattered and pale in comparison to these countries.

  6.  Banning the sale of acid to minors the Court said the corrosive substance could be sold to only those who have valid identity cards issued by the government and that too after specifying the purpose for the purchase in writing. 

   7.  In Dec 2013 the Supreme Court further directed all the States to formulate specific guidelines regarding the sale of acid and also for payment of compensation and providing free medical treatment for survivors of acid attacks and notify the same before April 2014. 

   8. The bench also asked the respective states to ensure that every police station,                  immediately after registering an FIR about an acid attack should intimate the concerned      SDM, who would, in turn, inquire how the acid was procured by the assailant.

Still there are many shops who are selling acid commodities openly without following rules and regulations, so still in India there are some places where acid attacks are still going on.
If you are reading this, now you know the rules that have been made for the sales of acid and if you find anything illegally happening around related to the sales of acid, please contact nearby help of government. Your one step could save many innocent lives and dreams from burning.

Acid attack and the brave survivors

ACID ATTACK AND THE BRAVE SURVIVORS!

The ruining of someone's identity is not worth in any of the cases. Acid attack is kind of a threatening attack where the victims are suffered due to attacking of acid on any of their body parts. It causes the melting of the affected skin area which in turn changes the whole skin structure.

Why it happens?
Studies show that some of the acid attacks are accidents while some are crimes, done intentionally to harm the other person. People with such mentality somewhere in their minds have thoughts to take revenge. But in my opinion, no reason can justify the action of ruining someone's life.


Acid attack survivors!
People who have undergone these attacks, are somewhere fighting with their identity because the normal people around them don't take them as normal as they are. Creating a sense of abnormality to their minds is something the same as making someone's life miserable. But these survivors have succeeded in making their life more successful and taking the attack more beautifully on their faces. There are many stories of acid attack survivors that make us motivated and confident.


The Story Of One Of Those Brave Survivors!
What is wrong with Indian society that takes such acid attacks lightly? It permits the perpetrator of such a wanton act as acid throwing, scot-free or with some light sentence that is laughable considering the intensity of the crime and the damage caused to the victim’s body and the scars left on her soul for life.
But heartening it is to note that despite the crime perpetrated on them, some souls have had the courage to fight back and become an inspiration for other acid attack victims as well – to not stay a victim for the rest of one’s life but continue with determination and lead a life of courage thereon.

Laxmi Agarwal – an acid attack survivor, the director of Chhanv Foundation
When 15, Laxmi Agarwal was like any young and beautiful girl having big dreams and a life of possibilities before her. When she did not respond to the advances of a 32-year-old man, he along with his girlfriend, threw her on the ground and threw acid on her face. She screamed for help, received none from a watching public that just ran helter-skelter and lost most of her face, ears and both arms were scarred black.  Plastic surgery was a far cry with the costs involved and she is the daughter of a chef with hardly any income could not even remotely think of it.

Today she is the director of Chhanv Foundation, an NGO dedicated to helping survivors of acid attacks in India, based in New Delhi. She knows the agony of an acid victim, has collected 27000 signatures against acid attacks and submitted to the Home Ministry as well as petitioned the Supreme Court which did lead to the Court’s judgment to regulate acid sales across the country and to prosecute those involved in this heinous act.
In 2014, Laxmi Agarwal received a 2014 International Women of Courage Award by US First Lady,
While nothing can replace a good life shattered by dastardly acid attacks, it is worth a thought for the lawmakers to legally bind the offender/s and the family members for making good the provision determined by court or themselves face penal servitude till such provision is made as stipulated by the court”.

Another story of Pragya Prasun

Pragya Prasun was on her way from the Hindu holy city of Varanasi to the capital New Delhi days after her wedding, when a distant male relative poured acid on her.

"I initially didn't realize what was happening. My skin was burning, fumes were coming off it, and it smelled as though a tire was burning on my body," recalls Prashun, who was only 22-years old at that time.
The relative attacked her with acid because she had rejected his marriage proposal.
Ten years have passed since the assault, which burned 47 percent of her body.
Still, Prasun remains thankful to a doctor who was traveling in the same train as her on the night of the attack. The doctor, she says, saved her life that night.
"She instantly recognized it as acid and requested everyone in the train to put as much as water as possible on me so that the acid gets washed off,'' Prasun told DW, adding: "she gave me her scarf to cover my body as my clothes were burned along with my skin.''

More needs to be done

But Megha Mishra, a spokesperson for the ASFI, says the Indian government needs to do much more to end acid attacks in the country.
"The very first thing the government has to do is to ban the sale of acid in the retail market. Second, it has to get very serious about punishing the perpetrators. Third, it has to ensure proper medical treatment for the survivors as they still need to fight to get medical support,'' Mishra told DW.
In 2013, the Supreme Court of India ordered the government to limit over-the-counter acid sales to people over 18. But Prasun criticizes the authorities, arguing that they have failed to implement the rules governing the sale of acid in the country.
This, in turn, has resulted in acid continuing to remain available everywhere at a very low price, she said. "I demand a complete ban on acid. It is not a commodity which should be available in the retail market. Acid only harms and it has destroyed so many lives in our country."

One only wishes that such cruel behavior be looked down upon by all sections of society, laws be stringently implemented and deterrents cause this unholy act to soon be a thing of the past.