Chemical warfare-protective measures and first aid treatment

Ever since its employment in the First World War, chemical warfare has always aroused controversy. Government have responded by pursuing the policies of disarmament and deterrence in the hope of avoiding its recurrence. However, despite signing of the Geneva Protocol in 1925 which banned the use of poison gases, chemical weapons have been used in subsequent conflicts and most recently in the Gulf War between Iraq and Iran. The chemical agents are capable of brining radical change in modern warfare because of their devastation and crippling effects on the human beings and environments. The objectives to be attained by the medical services include the management of casualties to minimize the injuries of chemical exposure by prompt administration of first aid and specific treatment. Properties of chemical warfare agents and therapeutic approaches to the management of injuries induced by these agents are reviewed in this article