Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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MURIATIC ACID EXPOSURE TO HANDS
Q. My son exposed his hands to muriatic acid while cleaning his basement floors about 6 months ago. He did not see a doctor. At first he could not feel his hands. After 4 months he began to feel pain in his hands. He is experiencing dizziness, weakness in his forearms, trouble shaving, no strength in his grip, can't write, can't use a knife, etc. He is 43 years old and lives alone. He will not see a doctor. What are his chances of surviving this? He will not accept the suggestion that he inhaled the fumes. Any help you can give me will help. Can you help me help him?
Sarah [last name & town deleted for privacy by Editor]Kansas
2007
A. While it's possible that this was caused by muriatic acid ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , it is ludicrous to make that assumption. If he refuses to see a doctor, with all these serious symptoms of something or other, it doesn't look good. Sorry.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
A. I can think of two scenarios that might be more probable.
1. He was also using a strong solvent like methylene chloride in the same relative time frame.
2. The more probable is that he also used bleach with the muriatic acid. If that is the case, he is lucky to be alive.
He also very probably has had lung damage but does not want to own up to it.
Muriatic acid would cause considerable pain within a few minutes of prolonged contact, so I have my doubts about a direct cause. My bet is that fumes of something has affected the central nervous system.
PS, I am not a medical person. If you can afford it, drag his butt to a doctor who will probably refer him to a specialist, probably in a large city.
- Navarre, Florida
A. He might not go to a doctor because of "other" things that might be found in his system that could be the cause of his problems. You can always call the police and force him into a hospital if you feel this is life threatening. The least they would do is hold him for a while for observation.
Sheldon Taylor
supply chain electronics
Wake Forest, North Carolina
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