Israel has been a leader in developing a treatment for mustard gas burns because of the stockpiling of mustard gas in regional military inventories of enemy nations. The U.S. Army assisted in developing the treatment. Therapy for gas burns entails administering povidone iodine in a base of glycofurol, a water-soluble polymer already approved for use in chemical and cosmetic preparations, said the Post. In tests on guinea pigs, the researchers found that tissue damage from mustard gas was reduced by about half when treatment was applied 15 minutes following exposure. Even after 30 minutes there was still a significant therapeutic effect, the paper said, quoting research materials.
Scientists are still unclear about how the treatment works.
However, researchers believe the iodine compound inhibits the caustic skin cell death caused by mustard gas exposure. Also, they believe the new preparation has more potent antiseptic activity than currently available iodine compounds. All rights reserved.