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I'm a seasoned activist who has found myself in the middle of a number of heated protests and even riots and riot-like situations, and here is a thread of some do's and don'ts as far as getting tear gassed/pepper sprayed:
1. DO mask the fuck up. Not only should this practice be more normalized at protests as it helps you to conceal your identity and not only make it more difficult for the pigs to identify and target you doing the action,
but it also protects you from retaliation and consequences after the action not just from the police but other insidious groups as well, like violent white supremacists.
Besides those reasons though if you do get gassed this (your mask) is going to be your first and primary line of defense.
Of course some sort of gas mask or ventilator is ideal for this sort of situation, but you may have the money for such equipment (btw though places like Home Depot may sometimes have ventilators some of which may be effective for tear gas for pretty affordable prices),
or the action you are attending was last minute and spontaneous so you don't have the time to gear up. In such a case what you should do is at least have a bandanna or some sort of rag, and you should soak it in water.
The water will help to absorb some of the chemicals in these sprays and gases. Even better than water is an apple cider vinegar-water solution. Not only does the wet rag become more absorbent but apple cider vinegar helps to open up your respiratory system
and makes it a bit easier to breathe once you've been gassed. Just hold the rag directly over your mouth and take deep slow breaths in. You should actually try to carry a few vinegar-water bandannas with you besides your mask as well.
Be sure to dilute the vinegar with water though and you're not just drenching a bunch of bandannas with vinegar, because though it can make it easier to breathe it can also be pretty harsh on your lungs and make you cough.
I recommend the solution be half water at the very least if not more depending on how sensitive your lungs are.
2. DO NOT fucking use milk as an eyewash. There is no real evidence milk is any more effective than water in flushing tear gas. Not only have i read countless of articles by medical experts saying how milk is not anymore effective in flushing peoples eyes,
but i've also been told that directly, by multiple street medics with decades worth of experience in these scenarios. Ideally what you want to have on hand as an eyewash is what we call LAW solution.
LAW stands for Liquid Antacid and Water. To make this solution you're going to mix 50% water and 50% aluminum hydroxide or magnesium hydroxide based liquid antacids (Maalox probably being the most common brand).
And if you are performing an eyeflush on yourself or someone else make sure you are pouring the solution right into the eye as a steady stream; don't dab or spray that doesn't get it all out.
3. DO NOT panic. Your eyes are going to feel like they are on fire and you won't be able to see clearly if you can at all, and, you are going to feel like you cant breathe and like you are choking on your own fluids.
I know..... it fucking sucks, but regardless you need to do everything in your power to not panic. Firstly you don't want to panic because it's actually going to make your own situation much worse,
being that increased rate of breathing will only serve to make the irritation much worse. Take slow controlled breaths preferably with an aforementioned vinegar rag. Furthermore panicking will make it significantly more difficult to treat you.
Medics and fellow protesters are going to have a hard time flushing your eye if you are flailing all over the place.
Beyond making shit a lot harder for yourself, by panicking you always may incite and/or escalate further chaos around you in what will already likely be a fairly chaotic situation, being that panic is contagious,
and in doing so you will have made the situation much more dangerous for yourself and everyone else in your vicinity.
If you feel yourself start to panic try to remind you that no matter how terrible you feel you are not actually going to die and that the moment is transient and will pass soon enough.
4. DO always be aware of your surroundings. There are a million reasons why this is important at protests and direct actions outside of the specific context of this thread, but I'm gonna stay focused on the tear gas context here.
Firstly you should be aware of your surroundings so in case the pigs do start spraying or shooting canisters at you, you know how and where to make a swift, orderly, and safe retreat.
Again in this situation it is absolutely fucking imperative that you DO NOT fucking panic; a stampede situation is not helpful to anybody and is dangerous to everybody.
In such a situation be aware of and take heed of the directions of anyone who is marshaling the demonstration ESPECIALLY if; these are people who work with the people who organized the action, most likely have experience and/or training for these situations,
and are specifically there to keep you and everyone else safe. In light of this, you should try to identify marshals around you and have sense where they are relative to you throughout the action,
so that if some wild shit does pop off you know exactly where to go for guidance and help. Typically Marshalls will have some aspect of their appearance to mark them as such whether it be a hi-vis vest or some kind of flag.
Along the same lines you should always try to be aware of where the closest street medics are. Street medics are all at the very least trained in first aid and many of them are even medical professionals.
