CA + accelerator = chemical burns?

CA + Accelerator = hardened CA. Since CA cures by a chemical reaction, it may leave a burn.

If you have CA on your hands you've already got a problem! They are products not to be used in a haphazard way. Care and attention are required.

Ah! Another "urban legend"!

In a word, no.

Now the qualifications:

The hardening of CA adhesives is exothermic. Accelerating this reaction releases a fair amount of heat in a relatively short time. But unless you have an awful lot of CA on your skin, I doubt if you could cause yourself an injury. The amount of heat released is just perceptible—nothing to compare with the amount of heat released by curing epoxy, even the "5 minute" variety. This would not be classified as a chemical burn, even if you managed it.

The hazard of having CA on your skin is obvious, or at least well documented. Having  your finger attached to your nose is embarassing. The real danger is your eyes. Never use CA without eye protection!

Now the real kicker: You really don't want the accelerator on your skin. Most of the CA accelerators I have encountered appear to be or contain amine compounds. I tend to regard such compounds as potentially hazardous unless they are either natively found in the human body, or are found in our "normal" foods. My reasoning is simple: the body tends to view such compounds as "routine"—but it isn't bright enough to realize that some of them are wolves in sheepskins. In other words, because these types of compounds occur naturally in the body, the body often does not consider them a potential threat or toxin, and tries to handle them like the "normal" ones it deals with on a regular basis. This can lead to disasterous results—or not. Kind of a version of Russian roulette.

Remember always that legally, a chemical can be called "nontoxic" until proven otherwise beyond a reasonable doubt.  

Ross,

Forgive me as my science classes are far behind me, but isn't the exothermic reaction merely a byproduct of the chemical hardening (polymerizing) of CA glues? I know that I've managed to get CA on my hands and it's a distinctly uncomfortable feeling, which I can only imagine would be worse if I decided to suddenly spray accelerator (toluidine is what mine is made of) on at the same time.

Should this be considered a "chemical" burn, like having an acid poured on them, I guess I would agree that it is not, but burn I think it would. I will not offer myself as a guinea pig!

Well, I've done it and I certainly wouldn't consider it a chemical burn. When I hear chemical burn I think of peeling skin an muscle tissue dissolving (also some required shrieks of pain), but maybe that's not always the case!

I'm really not too worried about it getting on my skin (the CA) as much as I am the accelerator. I mean, they use CA in hospitals to seal wounds! But I've never heard of a doctor pouring accelerator over your laceration, sooooo I don't think I'lll be playing with accelerator anymore (it was just once).

Actually now that I think about it, I've spilled almost every glue I own either on my face or down my leg. Huh, go figure.

An exothermic reaction is one that liberates energy, usually as heat. If sufficient heat is released, a thermal burn could result from skin contact. The heat could be called a by-product. This is not a chemical burn.

In chemical "burns," the tissue is attacked directly by one or more chemicals. They are called burns because the damage and the body's reaction to it are similar to a thermal burn. However, chemical burns are often more serious because the chemical agents tend to penetrate and remain in the wound, and are often difficult to remove or neutralize.

I'm not sure what you mean by "distinctly uncomfortable feeling" when you get CA on your hands. The stuff was originally developed as a surgical adhesive. I've had a fair amount on my skin a time or two, and while distinctly warm, it was nothing compared to the heat generated by two part epoxies. 

Then again, there are many formulations of CA glues, and some may be more exothermic than others. Your mileage may vary. 

Accelerating an exothermic reaction results in a much more rapid release of heat, and would increase the likelihood of a thermal burn. But why would anyone put accelerator on CA that they had accidentally gotten on their skin? If you get CA on your skin, you should either wipe it off at once, or let it harden and then peal it off carefully. Similarly, why would anyone be flinging high volumes of accelerator around? I apply that stuff with a small brush or glass rod, and I decant it from the big bottle into a smaller one with a "tip proof" (HA!) base. I consider it a hazardous chemical, and the blowers are on full when the bottle gets opened. DDT (Don't Drink This), DBT (Don't Breathe This), and DTT (Don't Touch This).

I suppose it could happen, considering the infinite perversity of the universe and the infininte capacity of even the most careful of humans to trigger it. However, such burns remain thermal.

Ross,

I will always defer to your expertise, and should learn to wait until you post and then say "what Ross said". It would keep me on the side of accuracy, at the very least!

By uncomfortable, I mean more irritating than burning, though as I said I'm not willing to spray accelerator on at the same time. The CA I use is a fairly slow one, and I'm sure that all I'm feeling is the crystallization of the adhesive. It's uncomfortable enough to avoid contact!

As for CA being developed for surgical use, I will now show the Urban Legend card! CA was "discovered" by Dr. Harry Coover, who was working on the manufacture of plastic gun sight lenses for Eastman Kodak during WWII. CA was a failure as it stuck to everything that it touched. I used the quote marks on discovered, as like many such things (scotch tape, post-it notes, silly putty) it ended up being used for a completely different purpose than it's original intent.

The rights for CA were sold to off in 1955 and a product called "Flash Glue" was marketed in February of that year. It was pateneted in 1958 and sold as "Eastman 910 Adhesive" and was featured on Gary Moore's I've Got a Secret TV show in 1959 (the year I was born!).

It wasn't until the early 60s that Eastman Kodak and Ethicon worked together to develop a spray that could be used to hold human tissue together, and Dr. Coover was successful by 1964 with on-site tests on the battlefields of Vietnam by 1966. This spray was given FDA approval for medicinal use.

The original formula was not FDA approved as it caused irritation and generated heat enough to cause first degree burns, and occasionally second degree burns. I'm presuming that the currant grades of CA are much more refined.

The liquid bandaid version is now readily available, and some rock climbers coat their fingertips with the regular version to prevent injury to the skin during the climb.

I will add DEL to your warning system (Don't Even Look).

Okay, first hand (no pun intended) experience.

I split a finger nail to the quick and beyond. I applied some form of superglue, probably Zap-a-Gap green. To speed things up, I apply a bit of Zip-Kicker. I experience a relatively short but quite intense amount of heat at my finger tip. Words of profound and premium profanity punctuate the basement. No lasting damage but I learn this ain't the way to fix a finger nail.

I don't think I would be too concerned over chemical burns/thermal burns with CA as much as I would sensitization reactions.  There is evidence that repeated exposure to CA may cause an allergic response in susceptible individuals, up to and including chemical asthma.  Taking the necessary precautions to keep CA off the skin should be a major priority, as well as reducing the potential for inhaling the stuff.  And if it gets on the eye, you now have somewhat of a medical emergency on your hands.  Don't try to remove it; go to the E.R. and let a trained medical professional take care of it.

Bgrigg,   most of the products I'm currently seeing in the medical industry have gotten away from cyanoacrylate chemistry in favor of products containing methacrylates; and they include everything from bone cements to dental fillings and dental prosthetics.

Gip

Bill, that just goes to show how a little knowledge is a dangerous thing! I knew about the later history of CA, but not its earlier history.

It is a matter of considerable frustration to me that it is impossible to even try to learn everything…or even just the interesting bits.

And when it comes to maters of health, we should both wait until Gip posts, and nod sagely in a virtual way while keeping our mouths shut.

Thanks for stepping in, Gip. Now I know why some of the stuff the dentist uses on my teeth smells familiar: methacrylates are also used in concrete repair.  

Ross, that makes me the most dangerous member on the forums! I might not know everything, but I still can squeek out an opinion.

You're right about Gip, the only problem is he doesn't post often enough to keep us safe!