Chemical warfare agents present in the environment can be toxic, and sometimes even deadly, as the toxic fumes can lead to health-related problems which lead to the importance of conducting SLUDGEM assessments. SLUDGEM is used to assess those that have been exposed to toxic chemicals and poisons in the environment. SLUDGEM stands for key indicator symptoms of chemical intake and poisoning including Salivation, Lacrimation (secretion of tears), Urination, Defecation, Gastroenteritis, Emesis, and Miosis (pupil constriction). One of the main causes of SLUDGEM is from chemical nerve agents such as Soman, Sarin, Tabun, and VX. These types of nerve agents were developed prior to World War II in Germany, becoming a volatile agent that evaporates both into liquid and vapor forms.
SLUDGEM Treatment
A known type of “human pesticide”, these nerve agents can elicit these symptoms associated with SLUDGEM and be severe to the health of a human. Emergency medical services personnel have several methods that they use to assess victims following a toxic exposure, including the SLUDGEM assessment. Monitoring a person after chemical exposure is critical and having an understanding of key indicators of chemical exposure is vital. Chemical exposure can be really hard to determine as many chemicals are clear and cannot easily be pinpointed in the environment. Thus, having the skills and knowledge to know what symptoms to look out for could potentially be a lifesaver.
When determining the best SLUDGEM treatment to implement after these effects, the common solution is usually a designated antidote for the chemical warfare agent, but it can be hard to exactly determine the agent that is in the environment. And often times these antidotes don’t exist and are frequently unavailable to paramedics in many EMS systems.
The best next option is to have a treatment plan of a protective defense before chemical releases happen in your environment. Chemical protective gear is a hard thing to find and in many cases, the level of protection is not adequate enough for the level of danger of the chemicals. However, the chemicals usually deployed in chemical warfare are strong, toxic substances that require a strong defense against. The FAST-ACT technology is a highly effective reactive technology that uses a proprietary blend of natural earth minerals to break down and neutralize a broad spectrum of chemicals including chemical warfare agents. FAST-ACT works against different chemicals by different mechanisms and different product applications. The FAST-ACT Chemical Decontamination Kit provides an assortment of our newest and most popular surface decon products in a compact storage box.
