• tacosanonymous@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      26·
      1 hour ago

      If it does, which I highly doubt, it wouldn’t be significant.

      The ice actually numbs the affected area. Just have to be careful to manage physical damage.

      I know that milk can help a bit if you drink it before hand bc it leaves a nasty film in your mouth that can be a protective layer. Again, it’s not even close to perfect.

  • TheTechnician27@lemmy.worldEnglish
    241·
    2 hours ago

    Okay, but ice isn’t good for this; it’s a chemical burn, and capsaicin is fat-soluble. You ideally want something like milk. Meanwhile, on your hands (assuming some of it got on those), you want to cover your hands in oil and then wash them with dish soap (and once those are clean, if there’s residual burning, you can use topical pain treatments).

    Edit: My understanding of the term “chemical burn” was mistaken. Thanks to @Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world for calling me out on this. I didn’t know it had to be corrosive or cytotoxic to be a “chemical burn”; I thought irritants generally were included.

    Edit 2: Actually, looking further into this, I’m not so sure I was technically wrong at the level of capsaicin you’d be exposing yourself to with a Carolina Reaper. Capsaicin can be cytotoxic. I wonder now if very minor nerve death occurs at this level of spice. Either way, that’s not the main problem if it’s even happening; my comment was wrong regardless of possible technical accuracy.

    • Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world
      12·
      2 hours ago

      It is NOT a chemical burn. It’s an activation of TRPV1 receptors. Normally these receptors activate due to increased temperature, capsaicin activation means they think there’s literally an increase in temperature. They THINK you’re burning, but you’re not. There’s no chemical burn; it’s reversible and generally safe with no lasting damage.

      Your fat soluble comments are accurate, although it’s really time more than anything else that will alleviate the pain. You do not need to soak your hands in oil before washing, not sure where you got that from. Soap and water works fine.

      • TheTechnician27@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        2 hours ago

        You do not need to soak your hands in oil before washing, not sure where you got that from. Soap and water works fine.

        I should clarify that my comment was assuming that, like in the OP, someone was handling a Carolina Reaper. Capsaicin being fat-soluble should mean that it dissolves into the oil and then gets carried away by the dish soap. I’ve never had to use this personally, since just dish soap and water has always worked fine for me.

        • VeryVito@lemmy.world
          2·
          1 hour ago

          The oil can also be more practical than medicinal: I know yard crew workers who slather down in motor oil when exposed to poison ivy – not to negate the effects of the plant’s urushiol oil, but to provide a visual cue as to when they’ve scrubbed thoroughly enough with soap and water to remove ANY oil: If you still see motor oil, you haven’t washed enough to remove the urushiol, either.

        • Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world
          3·
          2 hours ago

          My point there is that soap already dissolves and carries away fat and water soluble compounds, being that it has hydrophilic and hydrophobic tails. Appreciate your edit and your reference, good deep dive! You taught me something new, thank you

    • mushroommunk@lemmy.today
      1·
      1 hour ago

      Okay, but ice like he’s doing absolutely works. So many idiots misguided poor sops think they can eat my savory jam (what I call the scorpion pepper puree my buddy sends me) the same way I do (large scoop on a chip).

      Milk just kind of moves the oils around in your mouth unless you chug enough to get sick. The ice I think numbs the tongue and adds another distracting overwhelming sensation. Whatever the mechanism, I just skip straight to that with people who try to copy my spice consumption levels

    • Pyr@lemmy.ca
      4·
      2 hours ago

      Gordon Ramsey ate peanut butter for this purpose once and I’ve been curious to try that. I feel like it would work.

    • Carl@anarchist.nexusEnglish
      8·
      2 hours ago

      My buddy brought a pizza to work. A local pizzeria makes what they call a Russian Roulette. It’s a regular large pizza with jalapeños… Except that one slice has Carolina reaper blended into the sauce under the cheese. He told us all the gimmick, we all laughed and circled round to take a bite at the same time.

      That sly motherfucker had asked them to make the entire pizza with the reaper sauce. The heat was immediate and overwhelming, and all of us simultaneously went “oh god oh fuck I got the reaper slice.” And as we all rushed to the lone water fountain, we realized what he had done.

      It was a great prank. We all ended up fighting over that water fountain for like 20 minutes, like we were trapped underwater holding our breath, and it was the only air hose.

    • crunchy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      1·
      2 hours ago

      Back before anybody knew about them I had a neighbor that grew peppers and offered to let me try one. I love peppers and didn’t think anything of it. Spent the next half hour chugging milk.