Will calcium hydroxide eat flesh

Answer 1

Considering some of its uses, you can guess that calcium hydroxide is not going to "eat flesh" the way that Sodium Hydroxide is known to. Calcium hydroxide is the depilatory agent in Nair. It is used as a lye substitute in no-lye hair relaxers. It is sometimes used as a calcium supplement fortified baby formula. It is used in home food preservation in the making of pickles.

With that said, it still is not too friendly to your skin. Contact with pure Ca(OH)2 or very concentrated solutions of it can cause chemical burns or blistering - the longer the exposure, the worse the effect. Chronic exposure will cause persistent skin irritation and nasty rashes. Breathing in the dust can cause lung problems and chemical bronchitis as it irritates all the membranes. If you get it in your eyes it will cause severe irritation, and can cause ulceration and even blindness. Swallowing it can cause severe pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. The tissues inside your digestive system are not as tough as your skin. The damage from swallowing it can cause death. The damage to the esophagus can cause ulceration and/or narrowing (which makes swallowing difficult). The ulceration can be bad enough to cause significant internal bleeding.

Compared to Sodium Hydroxide, it is much less damaging. Getting Ca(OH)2 on your skin will not normally cause much immediate damage and most of the bad effects can be averted by washing it off soon after exposure. NaOH, by contrast immediately starts causing significant damage when you come into direct contact with it. The extreme alkalinity of NaOH coupled with its strong hygroscopic nature means it will quickly dissolve into any skin or membrane moisture and begin reacting with the surrounding tissue. NaOH has a solubility in water of 1110 g/L (20 °C) while Ca(OH)2 only has a solubility of 0.173 g/100 mL (20 °C). Since Ca(OH)2 is only a weak base and not nearly as soluble as NaOH (which is a strong base) it doesn't have the "flesh eating" properties of Sodium Hydroxide.

Answer 2

Calcium hydroxide is a strong base that can cause chemical burns and irritation when it comes in contact with skin. It can be corrosive to living tissue and should be handled with care to avoid any harm.