Burning in strange places - Fun with capsaicin

If you’ve stumbled upon this page via Google, you were likely searching ‘oh God my naughty bits are on fire how do I make it stop’ or something of the sort.

I think most cooks, professional and home, have been in this awkward, embarrassing, and agonizing situation:  You’re making chili, a curry, or other hot dish with fresh chilies, with full knowledge that chilies are hot, and the oils burn.  You wash your hands after chopping them, but when you go to the washroom, or put in a contact lens, you realize that you’re still covered in the oils.  Now your eyes, or worse, are burning.

There are loads of home remedies to get rid of “Hunan hand”, but none are very effective:

Dipping your hand in ice cream or milk works reasonably – it is both cool, and has fat to carry away the capsaicin containing oils.

Citrus fruits work less well than the dairy solution, but are still helpful.  The oils in the citrus fruit skin can help work the pepper oil off the skin, but you’ll still need to wash frequently.

After Bite, a topical anti itch product for insect bites works fairly well.  I believe this is because After Bite is ammonia based, and reacts with the capsaicin.  Likewise bleach is a strong base and works to neutralize the capsaicin.  Make sure if you choose to dip your hands into bleach that it is well diluted.  If applying After Bite, wash your hands with soap and water, put some After Bite on, rub it in and leave it sit for a minute, then wash it off.  Repeat this a few times, and the pain and irritation should be greatly reduced or gone.

The most effective treatment requires a bit of patience, but it is the same treatment given to those that have been sprayed with pepper spray.  Begin by washing the affected area with oil (mineral oil is best, but any will do), then immediately clean it with rubbing alcohol.  Immediately is the key, as leaving more oil on the skin only helps work the capsaicin into the skin.  Repeat with a clean cloth or gauze pad.  You’ll probably need to do it a few times at least, but with any luck, all traces of the pepper’s oils will be gone.

Good luck.

If you have any hilarious or unfortunate jalapeno related stories, feel free to share them in the comments.

Wikipedia has loads of information on capsaicin for those interested.