Tear gas was recently used at the United States Southern border on families with young children. The mechanism of action leads to pain, eye irritation, and even skin damage. For obvious reasons, the short- and long-term impacts of this noxious chemical agent have not been studied in children.
Red and irritated eye with blood vessels Getty Images, Royalty Free
On Sunday, November 25,2018, Central American immigrants at the United States-Mexico border were sprayed with tear gas by U. S. Customs and Border Protection officials. Images of families with children have underscored the tragic nature of the conflict at the U. S. Southern border. Regardless of one’s political views, when children come in to harm’s way, the debate becomes even more heated. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement in response to tear gas being used at the border, which included the following:
The use of tear gas on children—including infants and toddlers in diapers— goes against evidence-based recommendations, and threatens their short and long-term health. Children are uniquely vulnerable to physiological effects of chemical agents. A child’s smaller size, more frequent number of breaths per minute and limited cardiovascular stress response compared to adults magnifies the harm of agents such as tear gas.
While most have heard the term « tear gas » being used in riots or in the military, the mechanism of how this substance works and how it causes temporary and/or permanent damage deserves some additional attention. The chemical name for tear gas is ortho-chlorobenzylidine malononitrile, or CS.
