Hydrofluoric acid burns from a household rust remover.

TO THE EDITOR: The report by Mangion et al draws attention to a serious risk in the environment. The general public has been increasingly protected against the risk of harm from domestic products by a combination of legal liability actions and government regulation. Thus, the continuing availability to the general public of hydrofluoric acid (HF) in concentrations that are hazardous is something of an anachronism. While we applaud Mangion and colleagues for raising the issue of HF burns, we feel that their article is deficient in failing to mention a number of important points. ■ Topical calcium gluconate has been shown to be more effective in treating HF burns if the preparation contains dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO).2