Which type of chemical agent causes blistering of the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract and requires irrigation with copious amounts of water after exposure?

• A. Vesicants
• B. Blood agents
• C. Pulmonary agents
• D. Biological agents

Answer: (A)

Vesicants are blister-producing chemical agents that damage skin, eyes, and mucous membranes, including the respiratory tract. They cause painful blisters and tissue injury, so rapid, copious irrigation with water after exposure helps dilute and remove the agent and reduces further damage. This makes vesicants the best choice for a chemical that blister skin, eyes, and the airway and requires thorough irrigation. Other agents don’t produce the same blistering pattern: blood agents disrupt cellular respiration without causing blisters, pulmonary agents irritate the lungs but not the skin and eyes in the same way, and biological agents lead to illness over time rather than immediate blistering.