I did a silly thing and now it Burns!!

Help!!! I did something really dumb and silly today. I was given a bag of really hot marble red peppers, so before freezing them, I washed and sorted them and then got the brilliant idea to save the seeds from some of the squishy ones I wasn't going to freeze. So not thinking about gloves or anything like that, I used my fingers to pry out the seeds and laid them out to dry. Then I washed my hands really really well and went about doing other kitchen tasks.

That's when the Burn began, seems I had wiped my upper lip at one point or another and the capsicum from the peppers... well you guessed it...

I've tried everything, milk, vinegar, oils, soaps, lotions, aloe vera and even sour cream and yogurt, but my hands still taste like hot pepper and my upper lip still burns like crazy. HELP!!!!!!

any other remedies that you may know of, please do share, I'm going out tonight and well, I can't have fun when I feel like my lip is on fire...

Dissolve 200 grams of baking soda in 0,5 liter of water.

Wash hands and face (DO NOT GET IN EYES)

Rinse with clean water

Pepper = highly acidic

Baking soda absorbs those acids

Hey Hot Lips Is it hot in here, or is it just you hehehe. I think seeing you tried all the home remedies you going to have to sweat it out. :w:

Don't feel to foolish WW. I did the same thing with some hot Hatch green chili. The baking soda treatment works.

Baking soda huh, should have that in the kitchen somewhere. I'm going to go try it RIGHT NOW!!!

I can't believe it's STILL burning. I've eaten ice cream, smeared my upper lip with it, eaten icees, washed and washed and washed.

Please let this work.. I really hope it works. Though it's not visible, I feel like the only that exists on my face right is a huge upper lip

and thank you anonymous

Feels better

thanks again

reply to post by worldwatcher


Oh my. You would not like my Tex-Mex cooking World Watcher!

But, I do feel your pain. I was once dared to eat a whole one of those peppers.

reply to post by asmeone2


funny thing is that I love spicy food and my tongue can handle the burn. It's my area above my upper lip that's too darn sensitive.

btw I'm feeling normal this morning, anonymous's baking soda tip help and so did the several cocktails I had last night :w:

Are tomatoes not supposed to be the 'antidote'.?

I thought that's why they were used in numerous curry sauces,to soften the spiciness.

edit
BTW I read the title and my thoughts were elsewhere.
I was going to suggest cranberry juice or barley water he he he. .

[edit on 4-1-2009 by AGENT_T]

lmao No even if I had "that kind" of burn, I don't think I would be advertising it on ATS.. now get your mind out of the gutter

Last night I was the focus of many many jokes, regarding my "hot" lips and how I got them and what I could do with them.. no more.. enough is enough.

btw I never knew about the tomatoes, didn't find that hint yesterday when I was looking and I happen to have tomatoes on hand too... oh well, hopefully I won't ever have to look up these types of remedies anymore... gloves for me.

think yourself lucky that its your lip and that you didnt go to the loo and wipe a sensetive area haha



[edit on 5/1/09 by Obliv_au]

I'm glad to see you are doing better worldwatcher.

If you're ever in Gatlingburg, Tn you should stop by the Pepper Palace and try some of their hot sauces and peppers. You can even get your picture on the internet if you try the hottest sauce in the world. I haven't tried it yet myself but I had a friend who tried one little bite and said he sweated and burned for about six hours that day.

Bhut Jolokia pepper

This Hot sauce is No Joke! This Pepper Palace hot sauce is made with the recently discovered Bhut Jolokia pepper, which is now the hottest pepper known to man, mesuring at a whopping 1,001,000 scoville units. This hot sauce is No Joke!

Source

I'll pass on that hottest pepper in the world sauce, I can't go any hotter than a habanero pepper. btw I couldn't help but laugh, poor guy, he's brave though.

I think I've heard the tomato thing too.

It's odd though, because tomatoes are pretty acidic themselves, so I wouldn't think they'd have the same effect as Anonymous' alkaline baking soda treatment.

Anyone feel like experimenting?

i will do it and do it as a live podcast when I have a chance to get some peppers and tomatos

I remember watching some guy eat a world record setting amount of peppers (I cant remember which kind though) on a talk show one day. While he was eating them his eyes started watering and for some reason found it to be a smart idea to wipe his eyes. The medical team rushed out to help him. He didn't set the record but later came back out with bandages over his eyes.

Powerful little veggies.

I, too, noticed this thread because the title had me thinking, "Too many drinks at the night club?" :-p

Earlier tonight I had some stuff called "Quaker Steak and Lube's Atomic Wing Sauce" on some buffalo chicken strips. If you're not from the Pennsylvania/Ohio area you've probably never heard of it, but it's known locally for being the hottest hot sauce available in the area.

Several hours later, even after washing my hands, I touched my eye and was instantly crippled with agony. Also, one time, I ate pepper spray on a dare. So... I feel your pain.

I've found the best way to deal with it when you go overboard on the spice is to just swish some milk over the affected area for a few minutes and then try to ignore it. After that, any kind of effort to counter the remaining affects just agitates the area more.

Although... I've never tried the baking soda.

Ice Cream is the absolute best at thwarting the pepper burn...

Here's why:

During university tests, two things were found to be best at retarding the burn from capsacin (sp?)....dairy and sugar (both were about equal). Orange juice is a close third (in fact, on some pepper containers, it's listed as an antidote)

Ice Cream has both milk and sugar though, with the added cold temperature for immediate soothing.

Acidity isn't what causes the burning sensation. If that were the case, your mouth would melt.

Mechanism of action

The burning and painful sensations associated with capsaicin result from its chemical interaction with sensory neurons. Capsaicin, as a member of the vanilloid family, binds to a receptor called the vanilloid receptor subtype 1 (VR1).[21] First cloned in 1997, VR1 is an ion channel-type receptor. VR1, which can also be stimulated with heat and physical abrasion, permits cations to pass through the cell membrane and into the cell when activated. The resulting depolarization of the neuron stimulates it to signal the brain. By binding to the VR1 receptor, the capsaicin molecule produces the same sensation that excessive heat or abrasive damage would cause, explaining why the spiciness of capsaicin is described as a burning sensation.

The VR1 ion channel has subsequently been shown to be a member of the superfamily of TRP ion channels, and as such is now referred to as TRPV1. There are a number of different TRP ion channels that have been shown to be sensitive to different ranges of temperature and probably are responsible for our range of temperature sensation. Thus, capsaicin does not actually cause a chemical burn, or indeed any damage to tissue at all; it causes only the sensation of one.

Wikipedia

In other words, it's just the illusion of a burning sensation.