Knowra Blister agent Blister agent A toxic chemical warfare agent that damages skin and other tissues, causing inflammation and fluid-filled blisters. Exposure can also injure the eyes and respiratory tract.
Sulfur mustard : A vesicant chemical warfare agent that alkylates cellular molecules and can cause severe skin, eye, and respiratory injuries. The best-known blister agent, it causes delayed, often extensive tissue damage.
World War I chemical warfare : The use of toxic chemicals as weapons during the First World War, including chlorine, phosgene, and sulfur mustard. Sulfur mustard became a major battlefield weapon in this conflict.
Chemical weapons : Weapons that use toxic chemicals to kill, injure, or incapacitate people. Blister agents are one class of chemical weapon.
Nerve agent : A toxic chemical warfare agent that disrupts nerve signaling, often causing seizures, paralysis, or respiratory failure. Nerve agents primarily disrupt the nervous system rather than blistering exposed tissue.
Lewisite : An arsenic-containing vesicant that causes painful skin and eye injury on contact. Unlike sulfur mustard, this blister agent causes immediate pain and injury.
Second Battle of Ypres : A 1915 battle in Belgium in which German forces launched the first large-scale chlorine gas attack on the Western Front. It marked an early turning point in chemical warfare, before mustard agents became prominent.
Chemical Weapons Convention : An international treaty that prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, transfer, and use of chemical weapons. Its prohibitions cover blister agents and the facilities used to produce them.
Blood agent : A chemical warfare agent that interferes with the blood's ability to deliver or use oxygen. Blood agents cause systemic oxygen deprivation instead of characteristic skin blisters.
Nitrogen mustard : A group of alkylating compounds related to sulfur mustard, some of which have been used as cancer medicines. Its chemistry links blister agents to drugs that damage rapidly dividing cells.
Battle of Caporetto : A 1917 battle on the Italian Front in which Austro-German forces used gas, including mustard agent, against Italian troops. Mustard exposure contributed to casualties during this major wartime offensive.
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