Hello,

Thank you for using Ask a Doctor Service from DoctorSpring.com.

I understand your concern.

Exposure to hydrochloric acid(HCl) gas can cause irritation of the throat and nasal cavity mucosa(lining tissue) leading to discomfort and pain. It can also cause breathing difficulty (due to mucosal irritation and tissue inflammation). Generalised malaise and tiredness can be due to the ongoing tissue inflammation.

However, most of these effects are immediate and they should improve after a month. As symptoms are persisting, you need examination to check for any persisting tissue injury.

You can visit your GP or a local ENT Doctor for examination of nose and throat. If required, he may do a nasal and laryngeal(throat) endoscopy. To rule out inflammation of sinuses(sinusitis) he may plan for CT scan of paranasal sinuses (CT PNS).

Exposure to HCl can cause airway obstruction leading to wheezing.

Wheezing can be confirmed by examination or pulmorany function test (PFT) and can be treated with nebulization or inhalers.

So with time, your symptoms will resolve but for now, you need to undergo examination by local doctor for treatment.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask if you have any further queries.

Thank you. 

Regards,

Dr. Sunil Jalan,

MBBS, DLO, MS(ENT), DNB, DAA