page_title: Hydrogen fluoride
section_title: Health effects
hierarchical_section_title: Hydrogen fluoride / Health effects
caption_attribution_description: English: Different aspects of left and right HF-burned hands. Topical hydrofluoric acid burns typically do not show visible evidence of injury for a day or two after exposure. By then, effectiveness of topical or systemic calcium treatment is diminished.
context_page_description: Hydrogen fluoride is a chemical compound with the chemical formula HF. This colorless gas or liquid is the principal industrial source of fluorine, often as an aqueous solution called hydrofluoric acid. It is an important feedstock in the preparation of many important compounds including pharmaceuticals and polymers. HF is widely used in the petrochemical industry as a component of superacids. Hydrogen fluoride boils near room temperature, much higher than other hydrogen halides.
  Hydrogen fluoride is a highly dangerous gas, forming corrosive and penetrating hydrofluoric acid upon contact with moisture. The gas can also cause blindness by rapid destruction of the corneas.
context_section_description: Upon contact with moisture, including tissue, hydrogen fluoride immediately converts to hydrofluoric acid, which is highly corrosive and toxic.  Exposure requires immediate medical attention. It can cause blindness by rapid destruction of the corneas. Breathing in hydrogen fluoride at high levels or in combination with skin contact can cause death from an irregular heartbeat or from fluid buildup in the lungs.
caption: HF burns, not evident until a day after
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