Petrol in my face

[messie]

I've just had the most frightening experience on the way home from a very enjoyable ride out with the others today.

Just starting to fill up the bike when the nozzle slips a little and petrol sprays into my face. Right in my eyes, mouth, nose, everything. I screamed, cos the stinging was awful. I couldn't open my eyes and I felt completely blind and helpless.

I called out for help and a young chap came over. He wanted to help but didn't know what to do. He ran inside to ask the attendant but came running back again because he couldn't help. He then realised that washing with water might help so led me to where the air and water stuff is and washed me as best he could. He left then - many many thanks young man.

Then,as I could see a bit, I went into the shop for more help. I expected the attandant to help me but he just started telling me off for sitting on the bike while filling it. My skin and eyes were burning by this point and I asked for his help. He said he'd phone his manager! I asked for the first aid box but he said it only had bandages for hands in it and refused to find it. I got a bit stroppy then (tell you the truth I was in pain and scared). He found the first aid box with some opened, out of date eye wash in it. I couldn't possibly use that but another customer had realised what had happened and had some Boots eyedrops in her bag. They helped quite a bit.

Some time later I rode home. I've washed and washed but the smell of petrol won't go away. My eyes are sore, my skin is burning, I've got a foul headache and I feel sick. I think the original splashing was my own fault but I'm shocked at the attitude and lack of help offered by the forecourt employee. I shall be complaining when their customer services opens on Monday. I wont say yet which garage it was. I'll wait and see what response I get from them. Others customers there were very, very helpful. Two of them even said how nice my bike was.

[MellowMatt]

God that must've been horrible! Sounds like the attendant was a right piece of work, good to see the other people had some human decency in them though! I don't really have any advice for the pain unfortunately, but I hope you feel better soon :grin2

[The Guvnor]

Mate that is crap ! I done exactly the same thing in london when I was a courier ! It bloody hurts like hell..........hope your ok:rockon

[stusgsx]

that is a bit shockin that the attendant didnt help. you could probly do them with health and safety and there stuff was out of date and he had to look for it! ive had petrol in the eyes and mouth then got bored of that so tried paint thinners.....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

[SDM]

THERE ARE HEALTH & SAFETY IMPLICATIONS HERE.................... They should have an Eye Wash Bottle at hand, and is should be in date.

The fact that you was sitting on your bike at the time you was filling up has got nothing to do with it, the fact that is they are supposed to HAVE Eye Wash Bottle's, and they are not just for staff they are there to be used in situations just like yours.

I'm glad your are OK now, but if this happens to anyone else the best course of action is to flush out the effected eye with copious amounts of water, tilting the head so that the water runs from the nose side of the effected eye to the side...................

[Jetski]

Nightmare Messie! :eek:

Absolutely disgusting behaviour from the garage attendant! You would have thought that some kind of first aid training in that kind of environment was a necessity. At the very least you would've thought that he would have bothered his arse to actually TRY and help you!

I hope you get some answers when you ring them on Monday. pfff.

I hope you start to feel (and smell ;) ) better x

[rembrandt]

what a piece of **** luck Messie and what a crap attendant hope your feeling better know

[MickyGixer]

Messie I really sorry to hear this:( , thats awful and I would lodge a complaint with HSE should you wish to pursue it I can point you in the right direction. SDM is an expert in this field and Im sure he would also give you advice as to which agency within the petrochemical community to speak with first. Secondly, I dont know if you will read this post again before bed tonight but here is the current guidelines - even though they are basic and outline what SDM has already put about eye wash - :reading that may help to ease or assist you if you have further discomfort.

Its not meant to scare you in any way.:eek: But you only need ingest as little as a thimble full of unleaded to later experience difficulty.

Ocular exposure
Remove contact lenses if necessary and immediately irrigate the affected eye thoroughly with water or 0.9% saline for at least 10-15 minutes. This can be reapeated as often as required and whilst burning and tingling sensation continues. If you continue after 24 hours to have eye irritation attend hospital or your local optician to check your eyes. They also have stronger prescription solutions and eye antiseptics that can be applied.

Inhalation & Ingestion
Dont take any Gastric remedies or medicines that you believe may ease the soreness or your throat or chest, they relieve in the first instance but then are shown to exacerbate the symptoms.
If you have ingested small amounts and have had no symptoms suggestive of aspiration (choking, coughing, vomiting) or other features since the exposure observe yourself at home or if possible under supervision for 6 hours after ingestion, with advice to attend hospital if features develop. If you begin to show after effects or persistent respiratory symptoms, drowsiness or convulsions then attend a hospital.

Hope you feel better soon hun..:grin2 :grin2

[messie]

Thanks Guys.I am feeling (and smelling) a little better now!My eyes just feel like I've been crying for the last 12 hours.
I'm going to give them hell on Monday about H & S and general human kindness.

[MickyGixer]

This sounds daft:laugh2 but a friend of mine I just spoke to suggested if you got petrol on your leathers hun use shaving foam or gel to clean the effected area with, dab some on, let it soak slighty and wipe of with a warm damp cloth. He recommends it on his race leathers, he claims it helps get rid of the smell......however being a woman I think Id patch test it first...lolol...:grin2


And apparently shaving foam makes a better carpet cleaner that the proper stuff.....hey just call me AGGIE...rofl

[messie]

Do you think the stuff I use for my legs and pits will have the same effect???

[MickyGixer]

Do you think the stuff I use for my legs and pits will have the same effect???

He reckons as long as its a gel or white foam with no chemical colourant then it may/should work. Cant say I went as far as a brand name:laugh1 ...rofl...but hey it it doesnt stain it cant hurt to try:grin2 .

Whatever you try to use obviously needs to have an alkali base, in the past when I had petrol stains on my leathers - were I knelt in some like a muppet :jumping2 - I was told to shake Baby Powder on it and leave it and it did draw out the damp petrol, I later brushed it off and then rebuffed my leathers with saddle soap.....:grin2

[superstacker]

Now i have a fair amount of experience with Aviation fuel,

bottom line if it gets on you then in it needs to be washed off, at work this is normally achieved through an emergency shower. However these arnt provided in petrol garages, then again when im away on operations or exercise we dont have them either.

Basically we're told we need a ten minute continuous flow of clean(ish) water. Which basically means we will use anything to hand, although i draw the line at using any of my precious tea!

top thinking on the free water machine, but i really thing you may have a case against the forecourt here. Its up to them to provide safety equipment to refuel, i suggest next time leaving your visor down!

Now the smell? After four months in Iraq working up close and personal with jet fuel it took about two weeks for me to stop smelling of it. I thought id be clear then id catch a whiff of it. Simple advice: keep showering!

[Tori]

I don't post very often, but thought this piece of info may be of interest. The best thing you can use for splashed petrol in eyes is Milk believe it or not. I don't know why, but it happened to a friend of mine, and they smothered him in milk, and it really worked. Just thought it would be helpful...

[troutslayer]

i had at least a litre of fuel spilling onto my groin during an endurance race a couple of seasons ago, the result of a fully brimmed endurance tank, a badly seated cap seal and a poor start which saw the front wheel hoisted right up in the air...

i'll be honest but i'll also be graphic... it burnt. a lot. and skin peeled away from my 'old man'. it was an experience that i'm not in too much of a hurry to repeat... i couldnt rinse it off though, best i could do was move my legs about to get some cooling air flow, so i was stuck with a fuel soaked pair of bo*ocks for an hour...

[DoodleBug]

Next time use a lit match, gets rid of the petrol nice and quickly.


Bad luck on all counts, I used to be a petrol "jerk" in about the only station left in the world where I had to fill the cars up. Just be glad it wasnt diesel, that stuff brings a whole new meaning to the word "BURN".

This has got me thinking though, I am 99% sure I was never told where the first aid kit was, or wether we had eye rinse when I worked there. Never even crossed my mind.