So this afternoon I spent a couple hours peeling and chopping tomatoes, dicing onion, and coring/seeding/chopping peppers. Eight of those capsacin-filled hot peppers.
Without gloves.
My left hand, the one I used to hold the peppers and scoop the
(If you find typos in this post, I apologize. I'm not nearly as accurate when typing with one hand in a bowl of ice water.)This has never happened to me before. I've chopped many a hot pepper in my day, and at worst, my fingernails felt a teensy bit warm and tingly. I haven't ever chopped quite so many in one sitting. And I'm actually not sure what kind of pepper these are (it's been quite awhile since I planted it).
But one thing I do know. I have a bona fide chemical burn on my left hand.
I did a little research and on a recipe for homemade hot sauce, I found this.
To make it, you'll need a blender or food processor, rubber gloves (like those for dishwashing) and goggles if your eyes are sensitive. I'm not kidding. The hottest peppers, like habaneros, can cause a chemical burn if their oils linger on your skin, so wear the gloves. Also, be careful not to touch your face while you're preparing the sauce. Trust me on this one.
Further down, in a section on not immediately tasting your concoction, I read this.
Don't reach for water because it just spreads the heat around. Go for peanut butter, milk, ice cream or yogurt--the capsacin binds to the fat in them and is swallowed harmlessly.
Forget the ice water. I'm going to find some peanut-butter ice-cream to bury my hand in.
Modified at 12:18am Sunday to add:
I spread peanut butter on my hand like lotion three times. It helped, but the relief was temporary. The burning is no better. I can't sleep even though I took Motrin and am holding an ice pack tightly. I'm going to try milk now. Not sure what I'll do if that fails.
