Hey journos/other latecomers to HK. I'm a former volunteer ambulance officer and current journo (tear gassed twice this week), and today we're going make some Hotel Room isotonic saline.

But first, let's talk about tear gas.

Tear gas grenades release tiny particles into the air which get onto your skin, in your eyes, and into your lungs, and fucks your shit up on contact. The goal of treating tear gas exposure is simply to wash it off so it is no longer on you. That's it.

Isotonic saline is used because it matches your body's natural pH level, so it doesn't sting you. It's nice, but not actually necessary. If the choice is tear gas in your eye or tap water in your eye: PICK THE TAP WATER.

To make our Hotel Room isotonic saline, you're going to need:

* Salt (non iodised if you can)
* bottled water

Step 1: Add a teaspoon of salt to 500ml of water.
Step 2: Shake till salt is dissolved.

Congratulations you've made isotonic saline!

Medics carry saline in these tiny little irrigation (means "washing") bottles. You pop the top off and squeeze and the saline squirt out.

This is important! If you're just pouring water out of a bottle, a lot of water comes out at low velocity, so most of the water slides off.

The squirty nozzle allows you to *gently* water blast an area and get all the crap out effectively. This is especially important for eye washing, when you really need to get in there.

But good news! You can achieve the same results with a gardening squeezy bottle ($26 from Muji's gardening section, cos I'm fancy like that). That tiny nozzle? Absolutely perfect flow rate for eye irrigation.

Just wash out the bottle first, obvs. https://www.muji.com.hk/zh/product/4945247390315

The bonus is that you actually need very saline. I've used about 150ml so far and I've washes 6-7 pairs of eyes (including mine) with this batch. So if you're worried about weight, carrying even a quarter bottle is fine.

Bonus bonus: better for making friends than a packet of cigarettes.

In the next episode, we'll cover how to make a... *checks notes* wet towel to cover your face with.

Fun and totally unsurprising fact: your whole face is very salty afterwards.

Forgot to mention the Universal Step 0 for all emergency medicine: GTF away from the danger first. Obviously, you're not going to have much success washing off tear gas if you're *in* tear gas. https://twitter.com/keith_ng/status/1170885288484163584

Application: tilt head, squirt from centre to edge of head so you don't wash the tear gas on your skin *into* your eye.

Mmmm. So isotonic.

If you're going to take one thing away from this thread: get a squirt bottle, fill it with water.

It means you can wash your eyes and those of people around you. If you're just pouring out water, it won't go very far.

And from a practical perspective: just be aware it's very scary to get gassed. They might not be able to see properly, and you might seem like a stranger who's trying to stick something in their face.

When approaching, be gentle, be clear, offer help, but get consent first.