Why is it necessary to rinse eyes for 15 minutes after getting a chemical in? Wouldn’t 1 minute be enough?
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Hi. Former fireman here (with training for chem- rescue).
The long irrigation is because many dangerous chemicals will form solid precipitates/crystals when they first react with the eye.
These solids will continue to leech into the moisture that your eye creates to protect itself and continue to do damage. That is, unless you flush (irrigate) and keep doing so until all of those solids have been diluted away. That can take up to 30 minutes for some chemicals (and there are harsher demands for chemical showers in such facilities), but for most the 15 minute mandated minimum is enough (but hey, keep flushing if you can until the ambulance arrives).
Ideally you use a special irrigation solution (and most ambulances and all emergency rooms have irrigation fluid), because water is slightly different from the fluid inside the cornea and can cause chemicals to leech deeper due to osmosis. HOWEVER, immediate irrigation of the eye is far more important than ideal irrigation of the eye. So start irrigating with lukewarm water immediately and don’t stop until at least 15 minutes have passed.
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