Protection from toxicants

Exposures to skin irritants frequently occur in daily life at the workplace, in laboratories and during housekeeping. Apart from the physical protective countermeasures, there is a need for pharmacological preparations for the topical treatment of the exposed skin to prevent the development of burns. Exposure of the skin to a chemical irritant initiates an inflammatory response which progressively intensifies, leading to epidermal and dermal lesions. Topical treatment with povidone-iodine (PI) or iodine ointment significantly reduced skin damage induced by mustard gas (sulfur mustard), hydrofluoric acid and other chemical irritants. Human studies showed the efficacy of PI and iodine against thermal burns. The combination of anti-inflammatory agents and iodine increased the counterirritating activity. Both human and experimental animal studies demonstrated that the ointment should be immediately applied after occurrence: the earlier the treatment, the better the therapeutic effect. In addition, the ointment should be left on the skin long enough for achieving the therapeutic effect. This simple topical treatment can prevent suffering, skin transplantation and complications associated with skin burns.