What are the hazards of alkali to human body

I believe everyone is familiar with alkali, which is also called pyroalkali and caustic soda. It is a strong alkali with strong corrosiveness. It is generally in the form of flakes or particles. It is easily soluble in water and forms an alkaline solution. It is often used as an alkaline cleaning agent and is soluble in ethanol and glycerin. Moreover, it is highly corrosive and can cause certain harm to the body. Do you know what the specific harms are? Well, here I will introduce to you the hazards of alkali to the human body. I hope it can help everyone. Let's take a look.

In industry, sodium hydroxide is usually called caustic soda, or pyrolyte or caustic soda. This is because concentrated sodium hydroxide solution splashed onto the skin will corrode the epidermis and cause burns. It has a dissolving effect on proteins and is highly irritating and corrosive (due to its dissolving effect on proteins, alkali burns are more difficult to heal than acid burns).

Dropping 0.02% solution into rabbit eyes can cause corneal epithelial damage. Mouse intraperitoneal LD50: 40 mg/kg, rabbit oral LDLo: 500 mg/kg. Dust irritates the eyes and respiratory tract and corrodes the nasal septum; if it splashes on the skin, especially the mucous membrane, it can produce soft scabs and penetrate into deep tissues, leaving scars after burns; if it splashes into the eyes, it not only damages the cornea, but also can cause damage to the deep tissues of the eye, and in severe cases can cause blindness; accidental ingestion can cause gastrointestinal burns, colic, mucosal erosion, vomiting of bloody gastric contents, bloody diarrhea, and sometimes hoarseness, dysphagia, shock, gastrointestinal perforation, and gastrointestinal stenosis in the later stages. Due to its strong alkalinity, it can cause water pollution and attention should be paid to plants and aquatic organisms.

Dust or smoke can irritate the eyes and respiratory tract and corrode the nasal septum. Direct contact between the skin and eyes with NaOH can cause burns. Accidental ingestion can cause gastrointestinal burns, mucosal erosion, bleeding and shock.

The above introduces the hazards of alkali to the human body. I believe everyone has already understood it. I also want to tell you that if you are going to use alkali in an experiment, you must wear chemical safety glasses and protective clothing. You must use it with caution and do not let it splash on your clothes or get it in your mouth or nose. Also, take a shower and change clothes after the experiment.