What distinguishes a primary irritant from a secondary irritant agent?
Answer
Primary irritants can injure tissue directly, while secondary ones require higher concentrations or prolonged exposure to cause damage.
Irritants are sometimes categorized based on the intensity or conditions required to elicit tissue injury. A primary irritant possesses an intrinsic capacity to cause direct cellular or chemical damage upon initial, sometimes even brief, contact. In contrast, a secondary irritant might have a less aggressive initial effect or require a significantly higher threshold of exposure—meaning greater concentration or substantially longer duration—before it can overcome the tissue's normal defensive capacity and cause observable harm.
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