CS Gas day

Some Cadets told me, "I'll take CS gas 10 times before I take OC (pepper) spray again." So I didn't think that the gas would be as bad as OC spray. WELL, it's about the same, just on a different level. The ONLY nice part is that the effects wear off in about 5 minutes instead of 5 hours like the OC spray. Imagine yourself being drowned in 400 degree water. You can't breathe and your skin feels like it's on fire! The suffocating part was the worst part though. I couldn't believe that as soon as I stepped into the gas I immediately began gasping for air and nothing would come in. We had a few cadets pass out and a few dive out of the building (but then they had to go through again). I just hope I never have to do that again.

"CS was discovered by two Americans, Ben Carson and Roger Staughton, in 1928, and the chemical gets its name from the first letters of the scientists' surnames.[4] It was developed and tested secretly at Porton Down in Wiltshire, England, in the 1950s and 1960s. CS was used first on animals, then subsequently on British Army servicemen volunteers. Notably, CS has a limited effect on animals due to "under-developed tear-ducts and protection by fur".

"On contact with the gas the victim rapidly develops a severe burning discomfort and pronounced lacrimation. Blepharospasm and conjunctival oedema may occur. When inhaled, the gas irritates the nose, mouth, upper airways, and lungs. Profuse secretion provoked by contact combined with the filtering mechanism in the upper respiratory tract strains off the larger particles. Locally, the gas causes rhinorrhoea, nasal congestion, and irritation. If inhaled, particularly in a confined space, it can cause sore throat, coughing, bronchorrhoea, bronchospasm in asthmatic patients, pneumonia, and even apnoea. It is particularly dangerous in people with pulmonary diseases.
As well as its peculiar odour, CS gas has a disgusting, burning, acidic taste. If the saliva containing CS gas is swallowed nausea and vomiting may follow. On the skin the gas produces a tingling sensation and can cause erythema and blistering. The symptoms, however, are generally short lived."