Defensive Sprays Types and Effects
Date Added: May 12, 2008 01:06:50 AM
One thing to keep in mind with this article is that a weapon is only good if you know how to use it and then only for self defense. Without these two elements they can do more harm than good.
There are a few different kinds or pepper spray available today. Many people don’t really understand the differences or know which kind to get. The thing to understand is that there are basically there are three different types of chemicals which make up the various sprays you can use for defense.
They are CS which is also known as Orthoclorobenzalmalonitrile, OC that is Oleoresin Capsicum and CN which is alphachloroacetaphenone.
A couple of these work on membrane tissues and basically irritate them which causes them to tear and sting. Those two types are the CS and CN types which can take anywhere from five to thirty seconds before causing symptoms on the target. In cases where someone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs or otherwise may not be able to feel pain they could be substantially less effective.
When taking into account the limitations of CS and CN more people are turning to the alternative OC as their preferred choice in defensive spray.
OC is also commonly known as Pepper Spray. OC is different from CS and CN in that it is an inflammatory rather than an irritant. The effects of a person sprayed with Pepper Spray are pretty immediate. Their eyes are immediately forced shut and the agent causes their temporary blindness by dilating the capillaries. What that means is that even should the person somehow be able to open their eyes they still won’t see anything. In addition to the vision issues pepper spray also inflames the tissues which support breathing causing the person to cough without control.
People do tell stories of those which are unaffected by pepper sprays. The sprays that they refer to are those based on the CS and CN compounds. Not the OC compound.
It is true that those who are subjected to CS or CN gases as part of their training such as military personnel can become less affected by the chemicals over time. In addition there are some who are just not as affected by the irritant and can struggle through the effects of these compounds.
Defensive sprays which are based on the OC compound, otherwise referred to as pepper spray are much different. Pepper spray has an effect similar to a brick wall between you and your attacker when properly used.
One blast to their face and it is over. Those on the receiving end stop what they are doing, their thought process stops and it does not matter if they are drunk, drugged or less effected by the other types of compounds.
So when you’re considering the use of a defensive spray, make sure you look at the type, concentrations, size and pattern of spray.
