Crippled by capsaicin--for two hours!

[MorningGlow]

Now this was STUPID. I picked two jalapenos, absentmindedly, as I was showing my mom my garden. Did some weeding, other stuff, put up a trellis, and then, three hours later, not thinking (eedjit that I am), rubbed my eye.

Ow. Ow ow ow. Ow.

I couldn't see for TWO HOURS. The pain was so bad I had to retreat to the bedroom and roll around in pain for a while. Eyewash helped a bit, but not really.

DAMN, that was some major stupid on my part. My eye still hurts a little bit. Note to self: even the stems can hurt you.

Sheesh.

[TZ]

1. My mom did something similar..with a HABENERO pepper..

YIKES..it was her nose, not eyes but still....:scared:

[MorningGlow]

7. Mr. MG did that as well, but in the eye

It was good he had that experience, because he could confirm that I had gotten capsaicin in my eye when I told him what it felt like. I was totally confused because I didn't recall touching the raw end of the jalapeno stem (but I must have), so I was puzzling over what I might be allergic to--some other plant I ran into when I was weeding.

[Midlodemocrat]

2. I think if you did a milk wash, you would have been okay.

I've heard that, but don't know for certain.

[kentauros]

4. According to "The Whole Chile Pepper Book"

by Dave DeWitt and Nancy Gerlach, milk is the best, at least for reducing the heat in the mouth. Glycerol is a close second, with heavy fruit syrup, olive oil and water of reducing effectiveness. I have no idea how any of these other than the milk would work on the eyes, so go with the milk :)

[MorningGlow]

5. I thought about doing that

Milk does help when you eat them--don't know about eyeballs. Salt helps as well, so I had Mr. MG pick up some saline eyewash, which I used about three times. It didn't help very much, though.

[Gormy Cuss]

3. These are from the same plant as the jalapenos MrMG said had no heat, right?

Got heat now. Seriously, as the season progresses the jalapenos may get hotter so watch out!

Burning eyes are tough to remedy -- pretty much nothing but irrigation and more irrigation helps, and time. I got capsaicin on my contact lenses and then put them in my eyes, so I know the feeling.

[MorningGlow]

6. LOL EXACTLY

But would you believe he still insists they aren't hot? My right eyeball begs to differ!

Aigh, GC, contact lenses? You mean, trapping the capsaicin between the plastic and your eyeball?! Where's my fainting smiley...

[unpossibles]

8. I once put cayenne in my socks because I heard it keeps your feet warm

let me just say, it works and I put way too much in. I had HOT feet all day, despite washing them and putting on new socks and shoes. Like "on fire" hot where I went out and stood in the snow with shoes on, but no jacket just to cool off.

[MorningGlow]

11. I have never heard of that

How long did it last on your tootsies?

[unpossibles]

12. a long time

I put in too much. You basically start off with warm feet (doesn't do much if they are already cold) then rub in some cayenne powder. It gets in your pores and keeps them feeling warm. I used maybe a tablespoon or more, and probably almost chemically burned my feet, but it did work.

Also, part of the problem may have been that at the time I had no car and rode my bike everywhere, so the extra sweat and effort may have contributed.

[mokawanis]

9. Try it in the wilderness sometime

Years ago in Glacier Park, in a back-country camp, I accidently sprayed myself in the face with bear spray (nevermind exactly how I managed to do that). I spent the next 2+ hours lying on the edge of a lake splashing water onto my face. I must say I was quite impressed by the level of pain and misery.

[MorningGlow]

10. Yikes--no thank you!!

Being at home was bad enough. Then again, there was really nothing I could do at home that I could do anywhere else, which was writhe in pain and wait, as you probably experienced as well.

I must admit that once I recovered, I vowed that I would never pepper spray ANYone (unless they were truly, indisputably evil). Nobody deserves that.