Rank: Forum user 
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Hi all,
Has anyone got or had any experience using Diphoterine?
This is a solution which can de contaminate from chemical exposure, by applying directly to the affected area (eye or skin) in a first aid situation can decontaminate vastly reducing the severity of the chemical burn. A company has recently approached us with this, and it looks too good to be true (a side from the price and short shelf life) and I was surprised I had never heard of this before.
Anyone using this already?
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Rank: Forum user
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I have no experience of Diphoterine myself
However I am aware from postings on another forum I subscribe to that several universities and research centres have been using Diphoterine for a number of years and would recommend its use.
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Rank: Forum user
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Hi,
We use this where i work and i would highly recommend as i have used this on guys that have had caustic in eyes, everything fine afterwards, had to use on another guy that got a large splash to the face with formaldehyde, on both occasions injured parties were fine!!
Local hospital have this in 5ltr showers to use in emergency decontaminate situations. Price and short shelf life are a problem but one successful use and it becomes well worth it!
One negative is the pouch used to hold it, it has a velcro strap that needs changing on a regular basis. Easy way is to get overalls designed with a pocket on the hip to hold this can.
100ml can is enough for each person.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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torres, my knowledge and experience of it is a little bit different to yours but accept that it suits your situation.
Agreed, it is expensive to buy and there is the shelf life to consider. I believe it was £60ish for a small "one shot" eye bath.
I was the Safety Manager for an area where the Production & Engineering Managers had it installed a few years ago where we had bulk use of Hydrochloric Acid < 25% (Caustic). It is mainly used for Acid / Alkali burns.
If it is installed there is also major commitment required to training, all those who may need to use this in an emergency .
If your risk assessment requires the provision of diphoterine then all workers in that area need training to use it (not just first aiders) ie the solution / spray must to be used very soon after contamination otherwise it is useless. So in our case the aerosols or eye bath dispensers were strategically placed close to the risk of contamination. It is no use just having it in a medical or first aid centre. NB Hospital A&Es did not stock / use it when I checked as it needs using within one or two minutes of contamination.
Once the container seal has been broken it must be replaced.
So before you install this ensure that you have the level of risk that warrants the high level of commitment to training, refresher training, stock control, cost, and ongoing management of it.
Also note that water is universally used in an emergency first aid situation to decontaminate acid / alkali burn victims and almost always close at hand and available from many sources.
Steve
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Rank: Super forum user 
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We have it as we have a lot of corrosives. It is expensive but not quite as expensive as Steve suggests.
I agree with the comments that everyone needs to be trained and that it needs to be quickly available. It's gone down very well here, people are pleased to have it.
I do suggest avoiding the bags of eyewash, they are a pain to set up and it's better to get the eyewash in a more traditional bottle (these are about £100 for 500 ml).
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Rank: Forum user
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Hi,
Knew I could rely on you guys to help us on this one, thanks all for your sharing your comments and experience in using this product, and good to see some pros and cons in it's use which is very helpful and we will certainly take this on board.
Once again cheers all.
Sean (Anderson8)
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Rank: Forum user 
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Not used this in anger but did have a demonstration/sales pitch a couple of years ago. Lost confidence when the demonstrator had no idea of how much acid/alkali the amphoteric compound in the solution could deal with before being swamped. Indeed, following the demonstration we agreed on its use as a post first aid treatment ie wash of the bulk contamination with water or whatever, then use the Diphoterine to prevent further damage. In the end we decided not to go ahead with the product on both cost and risk assessment grounds.
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Rank: Super forum user
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I'm surprised by that as the effectiveness of Diphoterine is said to be reduced if water is used first.
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Rank: New forum user
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Hi,
We have this product where we work - mainly for Phenol exposure, where you need to react like yesterday.... Expensive - but how much do you rate saving your skin/eye sight? It is issued with phenol every time someone has to use it. Regards, Shelagh Mason, Tech IOSH, Canterbury Christ Church University
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Rank: Forum user
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Fantastic stuff. Highly recomended.
Yes it is expensive, but the minimisation of tissue damage in the event of it being used in anger will more than justify the costs.
We actually found that the shower unit represented a cost saving against the installation of outdoor emergency showers including piped water supply with trace heating in a coastal atmosphere where the traditional shower unit is junked by corrosion within a couple of years.
Edited by user 21 December 2016 16:05:24(UTC)
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