The term"victims of an acid attack" may be legally correct, but it elicits sympathy from others around the victim despite the fact that they were not at fault and instead creates a sense of helplessness. It was someone else who hurt them on purpose. The phrase "acid attack survivor" refers to someone who has managed to live despite all chances, including having many operations, going to court, confronting the public, and receiving medical care.

Reasons to Worry

1. It can happen in any class, caste, gender, region, religion, profession, rural/urban area, socio-economic status etc.

2. Acid attacks can be carried out both in public as well as in private places.

3. It is not a random or a natural phenomenon but a deep-rooted social phenomenon of conflicts.

4. Acid attacks are often used as a form of revenge against others.

5. In most cases, the attacker is known to the victim. It can be a friend, colleague, neighbour etc.

6. The attackers often tie a cloth on their face to hide their identity making it easy for them to escape punishment.

7. Sometimes, some people are not the targets but end up being unintended victims because they were near the intended victims and acid splashes on them also

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Occurrence in India

The Indian news reports reviewed that in nearly 34% of cases, victims were between 18 and 29 years old. In 14% of cases, victims were between three months and 17years old including children who were unintended victims.

Complications of Acid Attack victims

Loss of limb, vision, and hearing, if limbs, eyes or ears are affected
Depression, flashbacks and nightmares are a big issue.
Psycho-social issues will be a big challenge.
Hair is often lost
The bone may be damaged in severe cases.
Lips may be permanently flared, exposing the teeth.
Breasts may be destroyed completely.
The physical characteristics/symptoms of acid attack victims are as follows:
Disfigured appearance is one of the major symptoms of an acid attack.
Scar skin and damaged tissue are one of the major characteristics of acid attack survivors. Acid attack
They may be unable to move their neck; their heads may lean to one side.
Respiratory problems can happen.
The skin may stick to the body
Swollen, puffy and reddened scar skin may happen.
Skin doesn’t sweat and becomes dry
Irritation in burned skin in sun, exposure to heat or in dry weather
Infections in the skin are common in burnt wounds.
Immobility of body parts, if burns on joints, neck etc can happen.

Disability of Acid Attack victims

The disability in acid attack victims is considered by estimating the extent of damage in terms of the area and depth of the burns in different parts of the body. The percentage of disability is computed using the formula a+b (90-a)/90 where a= higher value and lower value.

The total % of permanent impairment/disability will not exceed 100%.

Facilitating the Disability Certification of such children through the State/District Medical Boards under the Department of Social Security and Empowerment, so that children can avail all the facilities in education, including monthly scholarships, scribe policies, extra time during examinations and all the relevant educational Rights.

Causes

Some of the causes in India are as follows:

Gender inequality and discrimination are one of the major causes. For example, for marriage, relationship, proposal etc. Acid attack as a form of female foeticide or female infanticide shows another form of violence against women.
Cheap and easy availability of acid is another cause of acid attack violence.
Sometimes, accidental acid incidents may happen like while cleaning the toilet at home or in factories that use acid for production, cleaning etc.

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Treatment and Support

Medical treatment

The Medical treatment can include the following:

Since acid attack burns may result in wound infections, proper therapy for those infections may be offered. The moveable parts must be dressed appropriately. Techniques for pain relief are available. If the skin is irritated or itchy, anti-itch medicine may be prescribed after consulting with the doctor.

Surgery: The most frequent operations done on acid attack patients are debridement, skin grafting, and z-plasties (improvement of the cosmetic appearance of scars). Debridement is a treatment that involves cleaning or removing debris and dead tissue, as well as the doctor maintaining the cleanliness of the burned tissue. The most challenging component of acid burn surgery is intricate face surgery (Reconstructive surgery). The number of procedures necessary varies from person to person and is mainly dependent on the degree of the patient's burns.

Ophthalmic surgery: Since the eyes are the most affected part during the attack, extra care should be taken for the required surgeries and follow-up of checkups and treatments.

Physiotherapy and occupational therapy can be given regularly to enhance the movement of the body parts, prevent contractures, maintain good joint movements, provide good muscle tone and prevent scarring and deformities. The physical rehabilitation consists of prevention of scar contracture, restoration of the normal range of motion (ROM), prevention and minimization of hypertrophic scar and improvement in muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance and to help the burns survivor to return to function and performance activities of daily living.

Haemoglobin levels in the blood can be constantly monitored.

Skin grafting or replacement: A procedure that involves attaching healthy skin from another part of the body to the burn wound.

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