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Chemical burn with quicklime: what to do?
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025
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Lime is a well-known material that we often encounter in everyday life when doing repair and construction work and gardening. The so-called "fluff" or slaked (hydrated) lime is mainly used, calcium hydroxide is a white powdery substance that is poorly soluble in water. This material is safer, you can buy it ready-made in a store, but you can also make it yourself from quicklime, which is also easy to buy. Lime burns are usually caused by neglecting safety precautions during the process of slaking it.
Quicklime, which is calcium oxide, is a highly toxic caustic substance. Slaked lime is a strong base and reacts chemically with other substances like alkali, but when water gets into it, a violent exothermic reaction no longer occurs.
Lime dust, settling on the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract or eyes, irritates it, cauterizing the tissue and causing superficial ulcers.
The process of slaking lime, i.e. diluting it with water, is especially dangerous. This interaction is accompanied by the release of a large amount of thermal energy, i.e. hot steam, the impact zone of which is fraught with burns of exposed parts of the body.
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Epidemiology
WHO statistics show that each year approximately 0.3-0.4% of the world's population seeks medical care for burns caused by various agents. Burn injuries cause long-term hospitalization, disability, and serious cosmetic defects. Severe injuries can lead to the death of the victim. Approximately 2/3 of burns occur at home, and their likelihood is higher in low-income families.
Causes lime burn
Quicklime is also called "quicklime". This name alone indicates that when diluted it "boils" strongly, releasing caustic hot fumes. When water gets into quicklime, an exothermic reaction begins instantly, hot splashes fly in all directions and caustic steam begins to rise.
Being near the container can cause burns to the skin, mucous membranes of the eyes and upper respiratory tract if splashes or hot steam hits them.
Contact with dry matter can also cause a chemical burn with lime. This is a caustic substance with an alkaline reaction. It absorbs moisture from the skin and degreases it, the result of contact can be the appearance of cracks and ulcers on the skin, mucous membranes, on which small particles of powdered lime settle when inhaling dry suspension in the air.
When in contact with water, thermal action is added to the chemical action – the combined effect leads to damage to the deep layers of tissue.
Risk factors for acute lime burns include failure to comply with safety rules when working with it. Long-term industrial contact with construction lime leads to atrophic changes in the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and other complications caused by chronic microburns from inhaled fine particles of the caustic substance.
Pathogenesis
The pathogenesis of lime burns is associated with both the chemical effect of the alkaline substance on tissues and the thermal effect, since it is hot. Even with burns from fumes when slaking lime, the steam contains microparticles of the alkaline substance. The steam itself usually affects large surface areas, often the respiratory tract, however, such lesions are shallow. Human skin can withstand temperatures up to 41℃, heating to higher temperatures causes damage to epithelial cells. Water vapor released during the reaction has a temperature of approximately 100℃, the boiling substance 512℃.
The depth of thermal damage is determined not only by the level of hyperthermia, but also by the time of its impact, and depends on the individual properties of the victim's skin, such as its heat capacity and thermal conductivity. The longer the warming time, the deeper the tissue will be damaged. The degree of tissue overheating is also directly proportional to the rate of cell death. However, short-term impact, for example, if you quickly pull your hand away, recoil, even at very high steam temperatures may not lead to the development of burns.
A lime burn can be caused not only by exposure to steam, but also by hot pieces or lime dough getting on the skin. Getting a hot piece of alkali guarantees a fairly deep local tissue damage, since with a chemical burn with an alkaline substance, a protein scab does not form (as with an acid burn), and nothing prevents it from penetrating deep.
The degree of damage from a lime burn depends on many factors – the time of exposure, the method of heat transfer, the properties of the victim’s skin and the quality of his clothing.
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Symptoms lime burn
Clinical manifestations of burn injury may indicate the severity of the injury to some extent. Although the first signs may be transformed as the disease develops. A chemical burn with lime may lead to the destruction of the deep layers of the skin and mucous membranes, which will continue even after the immediate cessation of contact, since the chemical substance has already been absorbed into the tissues of the burned area of the body. Therefore, the first symptoms do not always indicate the true depth of damage by the chemical substance. Alkaline liquids, such as lime solution for whitewashing trees, have the ability to penetrate deep into tissues, since alkali, unlike acid, does not cause protein coagulation as a barrier to further penetration into the deep layers of the skin.
However, if the skin is only swollen and reddened after direct contact with the lime has ceased, then this symptom indicates the mildest, first degree of damage.
If blisters filled with translucent or bloody fluid (vesicles) are visible on the skin, this is a sign of a burn injury of at least the second degree. Later, small blisters can merge into large ones (bullae), the diameter of which is more than 1.5 cm. Sometimes such blisters appear immediately. They correspond to the third degree of injury. Under the burst bullae, after the peeling off of the skin film, erosions remain. After the burn, there may be foci of necrosis of the colliquative type, when the burned surface does not heal for a long time. The scab at the site of a chemical burn with an alkaline substance does not look like a crust, but a whitish, loose and weeping wet necrosis without clear edges. Such wounds quickly become infected, purulent exudate oozes from them and an unpleasant odor emanates. Unlike dry necrosis, it has a tendency to spread to healthy tissues.
If thermal damage predominates, a brown crust of dead skin cells may form, which, when removed, leaves ulcers of varying depth. A third-degree burn covers all layers of the epidermis down to the subcutaneous fat, but if the wounds do not become infected, the skin surface can still recover on its own. Swelling in the burn site is considered a favorable sign, indicating that self-healing is possible, with the subsequent formation of delicate small scars (degree IIIa).
When the superficial layers of subcutaneous tissue are involved, the visible surface in the lesion is light gray, not very sensitive to pain stimuli, spotty - pale areas are adjacent to dark and even completely black, charred ones. After recovery, rough scars remain on the skin (grade IIIb).
The fourth, most severe degree of burn injury is diagnosed when all subcutaneous soft tissues, including muscle tissue, are destroyed, with charring of bones. The tissues turn black and become brittle, and self-healing at this degree of injury, even with scars, is impossible. Skin transplant operations are required.
An eye burn with lime (quicklime, CaO) or calcium carbide (its derivative, CaC2) is accompanied by an exothermic reaction when interacting with water, which is also present in the tear fluid. Therefore, a strong burning sensation and sharp pain will be felt in the eye. Local hyperthermia will occur. The eye will turn red, begin to swell, tears will flow from it, bubbles may appear on the skin of the eyelids and mucous membrane. This is a combined chemical-thermal burn. However, quicklime, as well as calcium carbide, are large pieces or lumps, which are quite problematic to get into the eye.
It can happen much more often that slaked lime gets into the eye. In dry form - when cleaning the ceiling or walls from old whitewash, careless pouring of slaked lime, in liquid form - when spraying already cooled lime solution on the garden plot, applying it to the walls or ceiling. Hydrated lime is a caustic substance, but it no longer enters into an exothermic reaction with water, therefore the burn of the mucous membrane of the eye will be only chemical.
During the extinguishing process, a hot drop can get into the eye or onto an unprotected surface of the body and cause a lime burn on the skin of the hands. It has happened that a hot solution was spilled on the foot. During the extinguishing process, the temperature of the solution reaches 512℃, so a lime burn can be very strong and deep. Contact with a hot and caustic chemical usually causes the death of cells in several layers of the skin, the symptoms often correspond to a third-degree burn, however, their surface is limited to the area of direct contact.
A burn from fumes during slaking lime, on the contrary, is usually superficial, first or second degree, but the area of damage is often more extensive.
A symptom such as lime has corroded your hands indicates that a person neglects basic safety precautions. You can easily touch lime powder and even take a handful in your hands. Unslaked lime will seem lukewarm to the touch. You can whitewash trees in the country with lime solution or spray Bordeaux mixture on plants without gloves, and do this repeatedly. Eventually, the caustic substance will make itself known. Lime can degrease and dry out the skin of your hands, cracks and erosions will appear on them. In people with dry skin - earlier, with rough and dense - later.
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Complications and consequences
Cosmetic defects in the form of scars and marks can remind you of the trauma you have suffered throughout your life. But a burn is not only damage to the skin layers in a certain area of the body, but also, depending on the severity of the lesion and the health of the victim, it causes a systemic reaction to the injury. In superficial burns covering more than a third of the body surface area, damage to the deep layers in the case of third- and fourth-degree burns, and in people with chronic systemic diseases, burn disease may develop. It develops in several stages, each of which (except for the recovery stage) can end fatally. In a more favorable scenario, recovery is delayed for a long period of up to several months. The first stage is burn shock, caused by severe pain syndrome and forced redistribution of blood circulation as a result of damage to blood vessels, followed by acute toxemia as a result of the breakdown products of damaged tissues entering the bloodstream, then septicotoxemia - the result of an infection complication (this stage can be avoided). The final stage, if the development of events is favorable, is the cleansing, granulation and/or epithelialization of wounds. Burn disease is often accompanied by early and late complications - the development of abscesses, lymphadenitis, gangrene.
In patients with liver and kidney failure and severe burns, when such conditions develop in response to damage, endogenous intoxication syndrome may begin. This occurs because the overloaded excretory organs cannot cope with the utilization and elimination of decay products. They accumulate and poison the body. The most formidable complication of burn injury is sepsis.
Third- and fourth-degree eye burns can be complicated by inflammatory diseases, cataracts, secondary glaucoma, corneal perforation and other destruction of the eye structures.
In addition, disfigured appearance and severe course of the disease very often lead to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder or depression. Many patients require the help of a qualified psychotherapist.
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Diagnostics lime burn
During the initial examination, the doctor first of all assesses the severity of the burn injury and the somatic condition of the victim, as well as the likelihood of developing burn disease.
The depth of penetration of the chemical substance and the area of the affected surface are assessed based on the clinical signs listed above. There are schemes and rules that allow one to roughly estimate the percentage of the affected area. For example, the "palm rule". It measures the affected surface, calculating the area based on the assumption that the palm surface is approximately 1-1.5% of the entire skin surface.
Clinics often have transparent film measuring devices with a measuring grid printed on them. They are placed on the burned surface.
To assess the patient’s somatic condition, tests may be prescribed and various instrumental diagnostics may be used (if necessary).
Since the burn agent in our case is known, differential diagnostics concerns determining the degree of harm to the body and the likelihood of complications.
Treatment lime burn
The prognosis for further development of burn damage and recovery depends 90% on how quickly and correctly first aid for lime burns was provided. First of all, it is necessary to stop contact with the damaging factor, remove any foreign objects from the burn site that are not “baked” to the skin and can be removed easily, and cool the affected parts of the body, maintaining access to oxygen.
Considering that lime can be slaked and unslaked, hot and cold, dry powder and lime mortar, in addition, you can get burned by hot steam when slaking lime, and different parts of the body can suffer, let's consider possible cases in turn. At the same time as providing first aid, you need to call a doctor, the sooner he examines the patient, the better.
Dry slaked lime and cold lime mortar do not react with water. They can be washed off with clean running water, then apply a sterile gauze napkin. The lime may not be slaked, so if it is possible to shake it off or remove noticeable lumps with a dry napkin before washing, this should be done. It is also not recommended to use neutralizing solutions, since the neutralization reaction on burnt skin and mucous membranes can give an unpredictable effect due to the impurities contained in the lime, and there are some. These are magnesium oxides and other chemical compounds.
In case of chemical burns, it is not recommended to use medications to treat wounds on your own, as this can also worsen the condition of the wound due to a chemical reaction.
A burn caused by steam when slaking lime, i.e. a thermal burn, remove the victim from the area of action of the steam and cool the burn site with a copious stream of clean cool water (if the skin is intact). You can apply a sterile napkin to the burn site and put ice on it, but keep in mind that you can only cool the burned surface for 20 minutes; if the wound surface is still hot, the cooling procedure can be repeated after 10-15 minutes. A steam burn often covers a large surface, but usually does not affect the deep layers of the skin.
However, when slaking lime, hot steam can splash onto the face, burning the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract and eyes. The victim is removed from the area of action of the steam, provided with access to fresh air. Ice or cold compresses can be applied to the eyes, pain can be relieved if possible, and an ambulance team can be called immediately. In case of severe burns of the respiratory tract, the victim can quickly die due to the adhesion of the burned trachea and bronchi, their obstruction and the development of respiratory failure.
Chemical eye burn. There is no alternative to water, especially since usually one or two drops or specks of dirt get into the eye, not a kilogram. Even if quicklime or calcium carbide gets into the eye, they will immediately react with the water in the tear fluid. So washing them with running water as quickly as possible is the only reasonable solution. If it is possible to turn the patient's eyelid and remove the remains of the substance with a cotton swab or by tightly winding a piece of cotton wool around a match, then this is not bad, but if no one knows how to do this, then it is better to just rinse as quickly as possible.
Rinse the affected eye under a cold tap, but do not let the water run under pressure (in the field, you can pour water from a plastic bottle, syringe, syringe, or glass). Direct the stream of water to the lacrimal canal, turning the victim's head to the side and slightly down, making sure that the rinse water does not get into the healthy eye. Cover the well-washed eye with a piece of gauze, cool it (if there is something to cool it with) and wait for the doctor. If prompt professional assistance is postponed and you have antiseptic eye drops (sodium sulfacyl, levomycetin) at hand, you can instill them to prevent infection and give a non-narcotic analgesic.
What should be done in case of burns with quicklime (calcium carbide)? First of all, carefully remove it with a piece of dry, clean natural fabric. This also applies to splashes or pieces of hot mixture during extinguishing. In this case, it still poses a danger, since it is most likely not completely extinguished. After cleaning, you can rinse the burned areas with cool running water, apply cold compresses or ice on a napkin until the temperature of the damaged area of the body decreases. If a hot piece of lime gets on your clothes and sticks to your skin, do not tear off the fabric. Remove the lime from your clothes, but do not touch the burnt fragments, leaving this procedure to doctors. Self-removal can lead to bleeding and infection of the wound.
In no case should lime be washed off with oil (as some sources recommend, to avoid an exothermic reaction with water). This is the most common mistake. Oil and other fat-containing substances are never used on a freshly burned surface. They are good later during the regeneration period as a softening and nourishing agent. And on a hot burned surface, fat creates a thin film that does not allow air to pass through, hinders heat exchange and contributes to damage to deeper layers of the skin and the development of infection, and this film will also complicate subsequent medical care and aggravate the pain of the victim, since the film will have to be removed.
Medicines that can be used for lime burns before the doctor arrives are painkillers. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs Ketanov, Ibuprofen, Ketoprofen are usually used.
In the future, the treatment strategy and medications will be prescribed by the doctor. First-second degree burns affecting a small surface are treated with external application of various ointment dressings that have a cooling, anesthetic, healing effect and prevent secondary infection. Conservative treatment is also possible for IIIA degree burns without secondary infection.
Burnaid Pechaevskie gel bandages are a first aid anti-burn remedy. They can be used immediately after removing the chemical substance, for thermal and combined burns of any severity and on any area of the body surface. They are sterile and prevent further spread of the damaging effect due to the ability to cool the burned tissue, moisturize and anesthetize, protect against secondary infection. They do not impede the passage of air, do not stick and can be easily removed if necessary. They can be used even in the absence of clean water. As an option, there is also a mask bandage for use in case of facial burns.
In the early period after cleaning and cooling the wound, burns can be treated with Solcoseryl, Actovegin gels, water-based antiseptics, Fastin, Methyluracil ointments, and Rescuer balm. But the most suitable dosage forms for treating burns are sprays. They exclude direct contact with the skin, which reduces the pain effect during treatment and reduces the likelihood of infection.
To speed up the healing process, Panthenol Spray may be recommended. Its active ingredient is provitamin B5 or dexpanthenol, which is well absorbed from the skin surface and takes part in metabolic processes that promote granulation of damaged tissues. Burnt skin has an increased need for this substance, which activates its recovery processes. The preparation is sprayed, after shaking, on the affected area of the skin from one to three or four times as needed. It can be used for facial skin, however, first spray it on your hand, and then apply it to the face, avoiding the eyes, nose and mouth. Allergic reactions to the use of this product are extremely rare, overdose and toxic effects with local application are unlikely.
As a means of accelerating regeneration and improving skin nutrition, ointments and creams containing fatty components can be used no earlier than the second or third day.
Burns with alkaline substances often cause wet necrosis and bacterial infection. In this case, Olazol spray may be prescribed, a complex preparation for external use, with components that have an analgesic effect (benzocaine), antibacterial (chloramphenicol), antiseptic (boric acid) and regenerating (sea buckthorn oil). Regular application to areas of skin damaged by a burn reduces their pain, dries, disinfects and accelerates tissue epithelialization. The wound surface is cleaned of necrotic particles and treated with foam from a distance of 3-5 cm from one to four times a day. Not recommended for pregnant women and children, patients with renal failure, as well as persons sensitized to the components of the drug.
The burned surface must have free access to air, so it is better to do without a bandage if possible. It is applied only if there is a risk of clothing rubbing the wound or contamination. The bandage should also be light gauze, not airtight.
In case of eye burns in hospital, in the first hours, a jet wash of the conjunctival cavity, lacrimal passages is carried out, for the purpose of pain relief and reducing the risk of adhesion formation, drops of cytoplegic action are instilled (Atropine, Scopolamine). To prevent secondary infection, drops with antibiotics are used - Levomycetin, eye tetracycline ointment, artificial tears are prescribed for moisturizing, regenerating eye gels with dexpanthenol, Solcoseryl gel and other drugs are placed behind the eyelid to activate the restoration of the cornea.
In case of severe burn injuries, treatment is symptomatic – maintenance of basic vital functions, systemic therapy with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs, surgical treatment.
It is highly recommended to include in your diet foods containing vitamins A, B, C and E, which will help heal burn injuries of any severity.
Treatment at home
Folk treatment of chemical and combined burns is possible only for minor first-second degree injuries, and if blisters appear on the skin, it is better to consult a doctor.
These are mainly local procedures, consisting of lotions and application of various mixtures. Immediately after first aid (cleaning the wound and cooling), thin slices of raw peeled potatoes can be applied to the burn site, they can really prevent further blisters and reduce the pain effect.
Applying a clean, hammered cabbage leaf will help cool the wound and relieve pain and inflammation.
Fresh plantain leaves can be found at any dacha. After washing the burn, you can apply clean leaves of this plant to it.
In the first days, you can make compresses with potato starch on the burnt surface, lubricate it with aloe juice or liquid honey. In no case should you use oils in the early post-burn period, but on the third or fourth day you can lubricate the burn with sea buckthorn oil. It will speed up the regeneration of skin cells.
Herbal treatment – lotions from infusions of chamomile, calendula, hop cones, mint, string, yarrow, oak bark. You can treat wounds with infusions of medicinal herbs on the first day, after cleaning and cooling. They will have an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effect, help to avoid infection and quickly restore the skin surface.
Homeopathy
If you have a homeopathic remedy at hand when you receive a burn injury, then after washing and cooling the damaged surface, as a first aid measure, you can take three grains of one of the following preparations: Arnica, Aconite or Cantharis. The 30th dilution is used for burns of any localization and complexity.
Further treatment should be carried out under the supervision of a physician.
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Surgical treatment
Surgical interventions for burns are performed to cleanse burn wounds from necrotic areas in order to reduce intoxication. Such operations are performed in the first days immediately after the patient is brought out of shock.
In case of third (B)-fourth degree burn injuries, autodermoplasty is almost always required – transplantation of pieces of the patient’s own skin to the burn sites, which is performed immediately after necrectomy. Such radical tactics allow patients with severe burns to avoid the development of the stages of burn disease following shock.
In case of infected burns, local surgical procedures are used – opening and cleaning of phlegmon and abscesses.
A new word in surgical treatment of burns – cellular technologies. Instead of autotransplants in case of extensive burn injuries, allofibroblasts artificially grown in laboratory conditions are used.
Prevention
When working with lime, certain precautions must be taken, especially when slaking it at home.
The extinguishing procedure must be carried out outdoors or in a well-ventilated, open area.
When slaking large quantities of lime, it is necessary to dress properly: in a thick protective work suit, boots, long rubber gloves. There should be no open areas on the body. Eyes should be protected with sealed glasses, respiratory organs - with a respirator.
In reality, a small amount of lime is often diluted for household needs, and no one dresses like an astronaut. But still, you should not forget about long gloves and glasses, as well as loose clothing made of thick fabric. When adding water to the vat, stirring the solution, you must not lean over the container so as not to burn your respiratory tract and face with hot steam.
When working with ready-made cooled lime mortar, you should at least wear thick gloves, do not wave the brush and do not splash the mortar around. Glasses will also be useful when performing cleaning and painting work.
If you still failed to protect your eyes, then under no circumstances should you rub them (this is an involuntary reaction). You should immediately clean and rinse them and be sure to consult an ophthalmologist, even if the eye injury seems insignificant to you.
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