Matt
Do most problems come from pressure or chem or a combination of the two? And do many pros wear respirators to try to reduce long term exposure to chemical vapors?
This may be a ridiculous question, but would it be helpful to have a section here on the board that covers precautionary measures and safety?
Scott, I spoke extensively with the Medical Director from NYCAM - NY Center of Agricultural medicine and did research for my "Surviving a Pressure Washing Injury" presentation. They deal a lot with health problems related to long term exposure.. regarding industrial and other exposures in farming and such. I did not wear a respirator routinely until I educated myself to the long term exposure to small doses of the stuff we use... bleach, oxalic, hydroflouric and the list goes on and on. The long term exposure is harmful and can trigger many disease states.
There is a link between long term exposure of some agents and leukemia
With that being said, an uncontrollable reaction that occurs when most have when severly burned in the eyes or face is to take a deep breath, kind of what you would do right before you hit a tree with your car.
You end up with a secondary burn to the mouth and lungs as you inhale. Burns to the eyes wont kill you, burns to the lungs will. We often minimize (at least I use to) the risk with the famous last words "It wont happen to me" A respirator is a barrier to lung damage.
That is the answer to the chemical side of your question.
Now onto the Pressure. The pressure injection of plain water does damage to the nerves and muscles. It is an accelerated carrier of the chemicals that are in the water. But, as this does damage, it is what the water takes into the tissue that does the majority of the damage. The harmless bacteria (anaerobic and aerobic) that sits on the skin causes serious problems when injected deep into the tissue, even more problems when the pressure disrupts blood vessels in deep tissue. It also carries any concentrated detergents and chems that are on your clothing into the tissue as well. This can and has caused life ending infections. People with the most serious infections of certain types that this can cause who survive, often end up with a 100,000 to 200,000 hospital bill, Even with major medical coverage of 80 percent, I have taken care of people in the ICU who still end up with a balance due of 30 to 40K.
I have seen a lot of unbelievable injuries that can happen on our profession in my years as a Paramedic and ICU Nurse. Most were preventable with an investment of 50-75 dollars on personal protective equipment.
I do think that there would be benefit to the industry to have a safety section.
Sorry for the long response,
Matt