What are home first-aid remedies to get relief from burning on your hands mouth nose and face due to capsaicin when cutting up raw Jalapeños?

Answer 1

In order to explain this, I need to strike up a little chemistry chat. So brace yourself.

Capsaicin is the active ingredient in pepper spray (which is nasty enough to be outlawed by the Hague Conventions on warfare). It's a hugely nasty irritant of skin and especially mucous membranes. And this is, of course, the active ingredient in peppers, notably of the capsicum family (you might recognize that name from Tabasco sauce). In its raw form, it's WAY more "hot" than habaneros or Scotch bonnet peppers -- which are arguably the hottest in the world.

The capsaicin bonds to the chemo receptors in your skin and mucous membranes that carry the pain signal to the brain (mostly the receptors that transfer "abrasion" more than "heat," but who can tell when it really hurts?), and it turns that signal ON. After a few seconds, this bond is VERY strong. Alcohol and water won't break it, nor will oils. You might do better with detergents, but at an industrial strength that would be dangerous to use, so that won't do.

So what DO you do?

Well -- mostly you treat as you would any chemical burn. Flush for a long time with cool water, and be REALLY careful not to cross-contaminate -- wear gloves, eye protection -- the works. Apply a pain cream after that, and bandage in case the delicate skin breaks.

I should add that, when I chop peppers that are high up the Scoville scale (the old-school, imprecise, but user-friendly scale used to measure how hot peppers are), I dress up like a spaceman. That is to say, I use eye protection, gloves, a plastic cutting board sheet that I can wash for a day, etc. When I treat a pepper burn (or, worse, a pepper spray burn), I'm even more careful.

There is one more idea you can try (which is why I gave you the chemistry lesson): The principle protein in milk is casein and, for reasons my limited chemistry fails to explain, capsaicin bonds more readily to casein than it does to YOU. So you might try flushing the burned area with milk. If you're eating hot chilis and your mouth is on fire, this actually works, at least better than anything else I can think of (and lord knows I've tried). I would think it doesn't work as well topically, where the skin is less delicate than in the mouth, but, as it's harmless, give it a try.

Answer 2

Ice water. Don't put butter on it as it will just let the burn continue to worsen. Keep the burn in ice water until it stops hurting. Then use an antibiotic cream on it.

Answer 3

use toothpaste like hand cream wash off