This brochure was published by the Medical Team of Os Dame, which was formed for the purposes of treating injured protestors during the second march 'Os Dame!'. It was distributed online before the march.
Announcement from the Medical Team of “Ως Δαμέ”.
Along the march there will be a medical team for care in case of accident, pepper spray, tear gas and any other treatment needed. If necessary, look for people wearing yellow vests and seek help immediately. Below you will find some steps for what you do if you or someone else is sprayed with pepper spray.
It can be an extremely painful experience if pepper spray goes into your eyes, because the capsaicin in the spray solution causes a severe burning sensation. There is no immediate cure but you can reduce the duration and severity of symptoms. After the spray you can use a combination of methods to treat your eyes to stop the pain from spreading. It is good to have with you a saline (salt water) solution that you have prepared in advance.
★ Never rub your eyes after they come in contact with pepper spray. Although it may seem like a natural thing to do, rubbing your eyes aggravates the effects of capsaicin and increases the pain and the spread of the burning sensation to other parts of your body. If you wear contact lenses, remove them immediately. Contact lenses cannot be cleaned from capsaicin oils. If your hands have spray on them, tell someone to help you remove the contact lenses.
★ Move to an area with fresh air and always with someone by your side. We never stay alone.
★ Blink your eyes quickly several times so that your eyes produce the necessary moisture to clean. You will not feel relief immediately, but this procedure allows the eyes to begin to eliminate the spray.
★ Put saline solution (which you should prepare in advance) or Physiomer Hypertonic on each eye to help with washing the eyelids. Continue to open and close the eyes after applying the solution. If you do not have a saline solution, tell someone to find milk and wet a paper towel and put it on your eyes, this will relieve the burning.
★ DO NOT use soap around on your eyes.
★ Remove clothing that may have come in contact with the spray to avoid re-burning. (Always have extra clothes with you during marches / demonstrations).
★ If you see that the burning does not subside, go to the hospital.
How to make a saline solution.
It is important to use clean ingredients and maintain sterile conditions.
Materials
Salt: it is best to use non-iodized salt. Avoid using sea salt as additives can cause problems for some cases.
Water: distilled water.
Use 9 grams of salt per liter of water or 1 teaspoon of salt per cup of water.
Preparation
For a sterile solution, dissolve the salt in boiling water. Close the solution to keep it sterilised and allow the solution to cool and place it in a container that will be easy to use.
In case it has an aura of water, know that “Aiantas” has a water cannon, a self-extinguishing system, a special chemical and tear gas cannon, a state-of-the-art camera that records everything (and helps its operators to leave the scene of the incidents even if they do not have good visibility), special protective surfaces and barrier removers such as roadblocks. The water cannon can also spray paint and water which has mixed substances (such as pepper spray) that could potentially have the same effects as tear gas.
If there is an aura of water in the march then you have to be very careful not to hit you because it can cause permanent damage or even death if used to the full of its power.
The volume is adjusted from the police and they try to minimize the possibility of error by throwing with a small call up (or at least, so one should have happened), thus reducing the chance of finding someone on the waist as something like that is extremely dangerous. If you see water coming at you with force move away from its target as fast as you can, cover your face and protect your waist.
The great weakness of the aura is the limited range that can hit in a straight shot. Throwing in the air is annoying but not so dangerous if they do not have tear gas inside, if you cannot avoid the water directly the best thing you can do is to turn your back and sit down in a squat position (to be almost sitting down) to reduce it and lower the center of gravity.
If it hits you and you cannot react, call IMMEDIATELY for help.