As protests continue to unfold across Kenya, there is a worrying routine response from security forces, who typically resort to the use of tear gas canisters to disperse crowds.
What is usually intended to be a temporary method of crowd control has become a norm in Kenya, with the use of tear gas becoming an all too familiar sight, particularly in the Nairobi CBD.
But what exactly is tear gas? How effective is it, and does it pose any health risks? Studies have been done on the same, and some of the findings are quite extraordinary.
Despite the name, ‘tear gas’ is not actually a gas. Instead, it is a pressurised powder that is condensed inside canisters and disperses into the air when launched. The most common form of tear gas is 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS gas), which was first discovered in 1959 by two American scientists. America soon adopted CS gas as the go-to solution to disperse riots.
From the security forces’ standpoint, the use of tear gas to disperse crowds is quite effective since the powder irritates the eyes, nose, throat and lungs by triggering pain receptors in the body called TRPA1 and TRPV1.
Moments after the body interacts with CS gas, the natural reaction is to retreat since it causes burning sensations, coughing, choking and at times, temporary blindness.
Despite its effectiveness in crowd control, the use of tear gas carries potential long-term health risks to protesters, especially those in Kenya, since deployment of the chemical goes beyond just dispersing it.
Because police officers in the country often launch the canisters directly into crowds at head or chest level, tear gas canisters end up turning into projectile weapons as well as a potentially deadly chemical for inhalation.
According to experts, while tear gas exposure has immediate and temporary side effects like itching, blurry vision and temporary burns, continuous inhalation of CS gas over time can have far more devastating effects.
Notably, because breathing in tear gas can cause irritation to the nose, throat and lungs, people who have pre-existing respiratory conditions face a higher risk of developing severe symptoms, including potential respiratory failure.
Further, long-term exposure to the chemical can lead to complications such as blindness, nerve damage, haemorrhages and erosion of the cornea, which is the eye’s outermost layer and the eye’s first line of defence for its inner structures.
According to Physicians for Human Rights, tear gas exposure can also lead to high blood pressure due to an increased heart rate. To people with pre-existing heart conditions, which they may be unaware of, exposure to the chemical can lead to cardiac arrest.
It is also worth noting that extreme exposure to high concentrations of tear gas at one go or exposure in enclosed spaces can also lead to death within a very short time.
Treatment: While there is no antidote for tear gas, the best way to deal with it is to avoid interaction with the chemical altogether. However, in the event one comes into contact with tear gas, treatment relies on managing individual symptoms.
Experts advise people to immediately move as far away from the source of the tear gas as possible to seek fresh air. Also, since tear gas is not technically a gas, the vapour from the canisters tends to settle to the ground. It is therefore advisable to seek higher ground as soon as possible.
It is also advisable to take off clothes that have been exposed to tear gas as soon as possible and bathe with soap and water to get the vapour off the skin.
