Riot Control Agents

Aliases

CN (Mace®), CS, OC (pepper spray), tear gas, harassing agents, incapacitating agents, chemical crowd control agents, lacrimators

Patient Care Goals

  1. Address side effects of exposed individuals
  2. Decontamination of affected individuals
  3. Minimize effect to provider

Patient Presentation

Inclusion Criteria

  1. Exposure to identifiable agents that are not intended to cause significant injury or fatality

Exclusion Criteria

  1. Exposure to chlorine, phosgene, ammonia or other agents that are intended to cause significant injury or fatality
  2. Exposure to an unknown agent

Patient Management

Assessment

  1. Assess scene safety: evaluate for hazards to EMS personnel, patient, bystanders
    1. Determine riot control agent being used
    2. Don appropriate PPE
    3. Determine number of patients
  2. Note symptoms exhibited by the exposed individual
  3. Examine as appropriate to complaints

Treatment and Interventions

  1. Move affected individuals from contaminated environment into fresh air if possible
  2. Remove contaminated clothing as able
  3. Have patient remove contact lenses if appropriate
  4. Irrigation with water or saline may facilitate resolution of symptoms and is recommended for decontamination of dermal and ocular exposure
  5. If patient is in respiratory distress, go to Respiratory section
  6. If patient is wheezing, go to Bronchospasm guideline
  7. For persistent pain of the eye or skin, go to Topical Chemical Burn guideline
  8. Exposed individuals who are persistently symptomatic warrant further evaluation and treatment per local standards