![]() “The body produces all these fluids and responses to expel this toxic irritant. ![]() Some people report feeling like they’re drowning in their own secretions and, if you don’t move out of the cloud, more mucus will only give the powder more to stick to. It’s a defense mechanism, but it will, paradoxically, make the symptoms even worse. You’ll start coughing automatically and your nose and mouth will secrete copious amounts of mucus and saliva, respectively. The powder also irritates your airways, making it hard to breathe, and causes your chest to tighten. It gets worse the longer you’re in the gas: After a few seconds, you won’t be able to see, which will disorient and confuse you, potentially to the point of emotional and psychological distress.īut that’s not all. When you’re exposed to tear gas, your eyes sting, your vision blurs, and you cry and blink uncontrollably. When a tear gas canister explodes, CS powder sprays into the air and adheres to any moisture it can find-that means the tears in your eyes, the sweat on your skin, the grease in your hair, and the saliva and mucus that covers your mouth and airways. The active component in tear gas-2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile-targets a specific receptor in the body called TRPA1, which serves mainly to send pain signals to the nervous system. Rohini Haar, an emergency physician, and a research fellow at the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. “People just assume it’s safe, it’s important to know that these weapons actually do cause injuries,” says Dr. Nowadays, tear gas is part of the crowd control arsenal of police and law enforcement agencies around the world, because it’s an easy way to disperse masses without the use of direct force. This chemical was first developed in 1928 by American scientists, and after years of studies, it eventually became a weapon widely used by the U.S. Tear gas 101Ĭontrary to its name, CS gas-the technical name for tear gas-is actually a crystalline powder that is converted into a fine spray and propelled from a grenade or canister by a small pyrotechnic explosion. ![]() Protecting yourself and others should always be your top priority, and being prepared is by far the best way to start. with the First Amendment.Īnd even though protesting is your right and you may have every intention of keeping things peaceful, it’s also important to know what to do if those canisters start hissing. This universal right is included in most countries’ constitutions, too-such is the case in the U.S. Protesting is protected in most parts of the world by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which endows people with freedom of speech and expression. This may sound like something you won’t necessarily have to face, but it’s been happening for years and it’s happening right now around the world-people are being violently repressed and gassed during protests in places such as Hong Kong, Ecuador, Chile, Barcelona, and Lebanon. When this happens, the result is nearly always the same: protesters get stuck in a thick, choking cloud of tear gas. Anyone who has ever followed the news knows peaceful protests and demonstrations can quickly turn into dangerous affairs.
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