Similar -- I fucked up my face fussing with a zit. Now it'll be a few days before it all looks good. Stoopid me.

Hey elizard - maybe I'm having a high school chemistry brain fart, but isn't baking soda solution pH around 8? Like a weak base? So it won't neutralise the bleach, it'll add to the alkaline effect.

*puts on poison control hat*
And one should never try to neutralize acid or base burns by adding the opposite. It's impossible to judge properly, and you'll probably cause some sort of exothermic reaction that will make the burn worse.

Hmm. I did the baking soda solution on the advice of my uncle (a local paramedic and a bit of a chemistry geek). It did sting like hell, but it seemed to bring down the redness and such for a while. Though that may have been the ibuprofen or the sunburn gel. Of course, we come from a family in which baking soda (usually in a paste) is the solution for everything (no pun intended), so there you go. Does this mean I have to smack my head again? I'll remember to use my left, non-burned hand this time.

I would like to smack a Poison Control hat on my head, cuz it's not fair that gaspode gets all the cool stuff. Does your hat have a Mr. Yuck face?

well, as long as it's getting better. But baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and bleach (sodium hypochorite) are definitely both alkaline. I remember using baking soda paste for sunburn, that was great.

(occhi, the poison control hat is great. I'm sure I told the poison center story about the bride who called up on a saturday morning because her husband's "friends" had superglued his buttcheeks together the night before at his bachelor party. They had been trying to unglue him with all sorts of solvents, including paint thinner, gasoline, nail polish remover etc. gah! I sent him to the ER with chemical burns (over and above the fact that he still couldn't you know... go) 3 hours before his wedding time.

never got feedback on that one either. )

Ha!

Oops. Thanks for the info, gaspode. Y'know, I even thought to myself at the time, "I bet gaspode would know what to do." I kinda thought that bleach was alkaline, but I have a bit of a hero-worship thing going on with my uncle, so never question his advice. At least I *did* remember to put on gloves over my burned, bleachy hands before cleaning the brush that was soaking in ammonia and water. (And yes, I washed them off, but they were still bleachy.)

And that guy--did you smack his head, too? Or his friends'? 'Cause I would've.

(Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, even with the gloves I avoided touching the cleaning stuff as much as possible. Yes, sometimes the kidneys, they work. What? Isn't that what you think with?)

Aw, elizard, that's most unfortunate.

*has been known to tap her forehead sagely and say "kidneys"*

Ha! Me, too! See? We're destined to hang out together!

We really are. I think we're soul sisters who just have to figure out how we're supposed to spend time together on the planet this time around.

*makes note to buy lottery ticket*

...and gaspode, what would you recommend? Of course, now that it's the next day the actual burning/damaging part is over, but I'm not sure what to do to help it heal.

On preview: *makes same note to self* Of course, buying a lottery ticket here means going to the pub, and we all know where that leads.

Back on the head-smacking theme, I got off pretty lightly. Last year, a friend of mine was carrying a bag of cement mix in her hands, tripped and fell, causing the bag to burst and spew cement mix directly into her eyes. She was fine after a couple of months, but they weren't sure at first if she'd permanently blinded herself. She's usually got good work habits, but as she said, "Who thinks to wear eye protection when you're carrying stuff? Well, I do now." (I certainly wore eye protection with the bleaching-over-the-head task.)

Okay, now I've made far too many comments in this thread, and will shut up for a while. Promise.

Oh right, the main decontamination/first aid for bleach exposure is lots and lots and lots of water (like, 30 minutes of irrigation), and then dressing it with a sterile bandage and tylenol if it's sore. No ointments I think, but I forget why. If it's a large second degree burn (large like, I dunno, 3 or 4 inches diam) then you should head to the doctor because it might get infected. It being on your hands increases the likelihood lots, I think. I'd get it looked at if it was still sore after a day or so, even though that's a huge PITA, I know...

And you know, IANAD, and haven't been a poison control person for 8 years or so...

No ointments I think, but I forget why.

I learned in first aid that creams/ointments, etc. should never, ever be applied to a chemical burn. 1) They may have a bad reaction with whatever chemical you spilled on yourself, and 2) they lock out moisture and oxygen that are necessary to wash away/break down the chemical.

Just because some time has passed doesn't mean the damage is over. I agree with gaspode that you should run lots of water over it and see the doctor if it's still sore in a day or two.

IANAD, but I have my CPR/First Aid certification.

Okay, so I mentioned this to my uncle, and he explained that baking soda in a *weak* solution is a neutral buffer for all sorts of things, which is why it's used in a first aid situation. I feel less stupid now. He went deeper into the chemistry of the whole thing, but it was definitely over my head.