328433 Sun Sep 24 03:50:35 -0700 2006 70 29 Not About Food 0 1898038 Hi! I just chopped some jalapenos today and now my fingertips are burning quite badly. Anybody know of any remedies? Looked online but found nothing. Maybe I'm not putting in the right search words. I'm not sure where to post this message so put in in this board. Cheers, gtrekker2003 Sun Sep 24 03:50:35 -0700 2006 17394 gtrekker2003 1 1898041 wash hands in bleach. do not touch private areas or eyes. Sun Sep 24 03:52:44 -0700 2006 1898038 29475 dylafleur 2 1898047 Hmmmm......I don't have bleach, except toilet bleach aka Lysol toilet bowl cleaner. Is that safe? I'm so desparate! Anything else? Tried soaking fingers in milk and yoghurt and ice water. Nothing helped. Sun Sep 24 03:57:49 -0700 2006 1898041 17394 gtrekker2003 1 1898052 no don't do it with the toilet bowl bleach. try lime juice or if not white vinager will help. Sun Sep 24 04:02:44 -0700 2006 1898038 29475 dylafleur 1 1898063 Capsaicin is alcohol and oil soluble, I think. Haven't tried it, but soaking your fingers in rubbing alcohol or vegetable oil might provide some relief. Sun Sep 24 04:10:57 -0700 2006 1898038 13930 Chimayo Joe 2 1906701 More precisely, it is soluable by alcohol and fat (but oil is a fat). Wed Sep 27 22:06:07 -0700 2006 1898063 14477 Hapa Dude 1 1898162 i wish i could help... during culinary school that happened to me and they were burning for hours and hours with terrible pain! i kept putting my hands in cold cream but i would have to keep replacing the cream with fresh every few minutes. an awful experience i'll never forget. i hope you found a good solution. Sun Sep 24 05:57:18 -0700 2006 1898038 17067 junglekitte 1 1898168 No remedy, but next time get some cheap, diposable latex gloves--a box of 50 is around $5 at any drugstore. I'm very sensitive to capsaicin, I was uncomfortable for 24 hours after slicing and de-seeding just two jalapeños, so I sympathize. Sun Sep 24 06:07:24 -0700 2006 1898038 17327 rootlesscosmo 2 2171757 2nd this. I have seriously hurt myself like this before. It's not fun :( Wed Jan 10 02:58:53 -0800 2007 1898168 39328 IndyGirl 3 3103536 Even less fun when you forgot about cutting the peppers with your bare hands a few hours earlier and go to take out your contacts. I now always use gloves, or if I am out of those I will stick my left hand in a grocery store produce bag and handle the pepper with that. Wed Nov 07 10:30:29 -0800 2007 2171757 75002 Megiac 1 1898189 Interesting, but this site also says use bleach ... but VERY briefly, don't soak in it. http://www.soupsong.com/fpepper.html "diluted 5 parts water to 1 part bleach, and so long as you dip your fingers in from time to time you've got the problem licked. Why? Capsaicin compound is not soluble in water, but chlorine or ammonia turns it into a salt, which IS soluble in water. Please be advised, though, you should never soak your hands in this solution" In the paragraph above that information, when asked what to do if your mouth is burning, they suggest garling in vodka (don't swallow) as capsaisin is soluable in alcocol. Don't see why that wouldn't work for fingers. Also hydrogen peroxide was mentioned. I wonder if rubbing alcohol would work? I had a problem with getting hot stuff in my eye and was told to rub salt in it. It worked, but I could never figure out why. Maybe it has to do with the salt absorbing the capsaicin or some sort of chemical reaction like with the bleach where it transforms the capsaicin into something else. Interesting stuff on peppers as a bonus on the above link. Sun Sep 24 06:33:41 -0700 2006 1898038 10264 rworange 2 4638002 I am having the same problem. I just tried bleach and vegetable oil. It helped minimally but my fingers are still red and swollen. Ouch!!! Tue Apr 28 23:12:04 -0700 2009 1898189 287099 bular26 1 1898446 Thanks everybody for the suggestions. This is good to know for future reference. I never had these reactions to jalapeno chillis in the past, not sure why now. Anyways, I ended up dunking my fingers in vegetable oil and also apple cider vinegar (didn't have white) and there was some relief. Enough so that I could sleep. Woke up a few hours later and the burning was gone. Learned my lesson! Sun Sep 24 15:01:58 -0700 2006 1898038 17394 gtrekker2003 1 1906973 For future reference: sour cream was my savior a few weeks ago when I was stemming dried chiles without gloves on (I know, stupid), and then touched my face. Nothing worked well except dabbing sour cream on, and that was almost immediate relief. Wed Sep 27 23:48:34 -0700 2006 1898038 13525 JasmineG 2 1912565 That's because the remedy is milk. Sat Sep 30 01:44:09 -0700 2006 1906973 22450 Chris Weber 3 1912729 Well, milk doesn't work as well as sour cream does, since it doesn't have the sticking power. Sat Sep 30 03:51:06 -0700 2006 1912565 13525 JasmineG 4 2183604 I was just about to suggest milk, and I saw that someone else already had. Sour cream is a great idea. I burn my hands with chilies ALL THE TIME. It's the worst if you wear rings and don't take them off first. Sat Jan 13 00:02:23 -0800 2007 1912729 56793 ballulah 1 1919746 No remedies, but next time coat your hands with some cooking oil. Tue Oct 03 19:46:23 -0700 2006 1898038 36661 Sam Fujisaka 1 1919755 This happened to me a few years back and nothing helped. In fact, everything I tried made it worse. I eventually took a few Advil and managed to fall asleep/pass out from the pain. Tue Oct 03 19:48:21 -0700 2006 1898038 37702 SusieGirl7 1 1919857 What about baking soda? It absorbs things well, maybe the capsaisin too? Anybody know? Tue Oct 03 20:16:27 -0700 2006 1898038 25921 uman 2 2169088 Baking soda sort of works....but a mexican chef once told me to make a bowl of lime water and dunk my hands in that for a few minutes. Tue Jan 09 15:40:30 -0800 2007 1919857 12023 Hungry Celeste 1 2168303 The same thing happened to me after deseeding some poblanos yesterday evening sans gloves. I didn't think these were particularly hot peppers, but my hands have been burning for more than 24 hours now. I thought the sensation/pain was gone, but after taking a hot shower, the irritation was back with a fury. I did not have rubbing alcohol or bleach on hand, but found swabbing with acetone nail polish remover helped quite a bit. wowsa, lesson learned. Capsaicin is no joke. Tue Jan 09 05:37:07 -0800 2007 1898038 12958 MAH 2 2168308 The hot water probably opened up the pores in your skin. Tue Jan 09 05:40:25 -0800 2007 2168303 60322 spades 1 2168408 Something similar happened to me once... my fingers are generally immune to oils from hot peppers (from years of heat abuse), so I'm usually not too careful or overly concerned when handling chiles. One time I was chopping a bunch of fresh serrano chiles and cilantro to throw into a pot of soup because I had a cold. After chopping, I absently wiped my nose, which was raw from all the tissue abrasion over the past days. Oh. My. God. It was the worst pain I'd endured in a long time. I tried to run/splash water over the area but that wasn't helping at all and I was inhaling more than I really wanted to. The only other thing I could think of was to load a Kleenex with Yogurt and shove that up my nose. Well, at least that worked after a minute of agony, but I've got to admit I've never looked (nor felt) so stupid in my life. So try yogurt next time, I guess that's what I'm saying. :) And avoid the nose area! Tue Jan 09 06:57:27 -0800 2007 1898038 58137 adroit_minx 2 2168426 Wow, I did the exact same thing a few months ago. My nose was on FIRE. I evenutally solved it (similar to you) by spreading sour cream all over my nose, but wow, that was awful while it lasted. Tue Jan 09 07:15:09 -0800 2007 2168408 13525 JasmineG 3 2168429 You have no idea how much better you just made me feel. :) THANK YOU! Tue Jan 09 07:23:03 -0800 2007 2168426 58137 adroit_minx 4 2175206 Did you have your mother and sister there pointing and laughing at you for the next hour when they saw you with sour cream on your nose? If not, I definitely had it worse :) Wed Jan 10 23:25:09 -0800 2007 2168429 13525 JasmineG 1 2169198 restaurant around here does "hotte than hell night", every few months, and the dishes are just saturated with everything from jalapenos to habaneros. if somebody cries uncle, the antidote is a creamsicle. something fatty and cold, like sour cream already mentioned above, will do the trick. Tue Jan 09 16:09:35 -0800 2007 1898038 30273 hotoynoodle 1 2171860 Found out long ago that water does no good at putting out the fire in mouth from hot chiles. But also found that milk (or sour cream, ice cream, yogurt), sugar or honey took care of it pretty dang quick. I guess if I burned my hands preparing chiles, I'd soak them in milk, at least 2% if not whole. Wed Jan 10 03:39:28 -0800 2007 1898038 11824 KCJ 1 2175193 Not sure if this was pointed out already, but by the time you're in pain and it's hours later, the damage is done: your skin has a chemical burn just like if you burned it on a stove, so all you can do now is help it heal (assuming you've washed thoroughly so the burning agent is no longer on your skin). As everyone mentioned, be sure to protect your hands next time. Wed Jan 10 23:22:28 -0800 2007 1898038 46024 allegro805 1 2183020 Stay away from bleach or alcohol. Your dealing with chemical burn and playing with other chemicals isn't wise. Wood alcohol also can be absorbed through already inflamed skin leading to all kinds of toxic possibilites. One of which one is blindness. Perhaps without commenting any further you should consult a doctor and maybe you require a script for some burn cream. _____ Fri Jan 12 21:26:18 -0800 2007 1898038 60276 RShea78 2 2183104 Bleach is toxic and an endocrine disruptor ... as a cure it may be worse than the "disease." I empathize--I've done this before too. I now handle hot peppers very carefully, touching only the skin and the knife. These days I just get a bit of tingling ... Fri Jan 12 21:44:04 -0800 2007 2183020 19108 foiegras 1 2183062 I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer, which is mostly alcohol, next to the sink and apply it liberally to my hands, especially my finger tips, immediately after chopping jalapenos. Then I wash my hands with soap and water. This works well for me. But note this is to prevent a burn, but is not appropriate to cure a burn. Fri Jan 12 21:36:24 -0800 2007 1898038 61643 bill_in_dunn 1 2183583 Ah, yes, did something similar with 3 habaneros a few months ago. Like wearing extra extra extra strength ben gay or tiger balm. Fri Jan 12 23:56:30 -0800 2007 1898038 13445 Louise 1 2184857 I've heard that sugar helps, but I always use gloves--one bad experience was enough for me! How do those cooks on TV chop chiles with no gloves and no consequences? Sat Jan 13 14:49:23 -0800 2007 1898038 48876 mamaciita 2 2185102 >>> How do those cooks on TV chop chiles with no gloves and no consequences? People just develop a tolerance to it. The more they handle them the less the problem. Sat Jan 13 16:53:59 -0800 2007 2184857 60276 RShea78 1 2331906 Thanks to everyone for the info. I've been handling chiles for years and thought I was immune. NOT! Burned my hands to the max last night and though the pain had diminished somewhat overnight, it flared back up with a vengeance while wearing rubber gloves today at work. Have been soaking my hands in whole milk on and off for an hour or so now and it really seems to be helping! I will never again be so foolish as to not wear gloves. Totally preventable suffering! Why would this happen how when I've been doing it for years without consequence? Mon Feb 26 16:44:25 -0800 2007 1898038 78080 kburson 2 2332095 I'm going to venture to say that these chiles were a different variety than what you have been used to. Perhaps they were even grown in a different soil than previous peppers. By the same token organic onions cause far more reaction than non-organic ones. I sympathize with your pain - lesson learned, unfortunately, the hard way. Mon Feb 26 17:37:54 -0800 2007 2331906 75332 Gio 1 2332035 This might sound crazy but the only remedy that worked for me was MUD. My husband brought in a pail of dirt and added cold water to create a paste. He covered my entire hand in the MUD, which was cool and helped the hot sting. I kept the mud pack on for an hour, rinsed it off and was able to tolerate the remaining but much less intense burning feeling. By the following day it was gone. Mon Feb 26 17:24:22 -0800 2007 1898038 36312 HillJ 2 4639210 Not so crazy sounding. When I was a little girl, my grandmother would use mud to relieve the pain of bee stings. I wonder why that works? Wed Apr 29 10:41:29 -0700 2009 2332035 10264 rworange 3 4639257 I still have no idea why it works. My Dad, rest his soul, was always healing with things from the earth. Truth be told, I'm more my Mother's daughter, in that today-I would grab a handy container of greek yogurt for a burn before I would think to grab some dirt and make mud. But, memories are what count! Wed Apr 29 10:56:22 -0700 2009 4639210 36312 HillJ 1 2336264 I cannot believe that nobody has offered the one best suggestion: RUBBER GLOVES. They are cheap, they are easy to use, they turn your hands into invulnerable, invincible Power Talons. With rubber gloves on, you can peel a freshly boiled potato, scrape the skin off of a beet freshly out of the oven, hold down chiles while cutting them into tiny slivers. Something under four bucks will get you a two-pack of yellow Playtex gloves with a cotton lining, not so thick as to be clumsy, but thick enough and comfortable enough to keep your fingers up out of the truly rough stuff. Tue Feb 27 21:07:20 -0800 2007 1898038 11478 Will Owen 2 2336355 Will O...great suggestion 'cept for those of us with small hands. Playtex gloves are most clumsy. ONE size does NOT fit all. Tue Feb 27 21:48:09 -0800 2007 2336264 36312 HillJ 1 3081384 I am SOOOOOOOO thankful I found this tonight! I was cutting up jalipenos tonight to go with dinner and just pulling them out of the jar bare handed(i've done this part before) and an hour later my fingures where burning like crazy!!! I've never had that happen before....I made a comment to my hubby about soaking them in milk and he thought I was crazy! The sour cream works better than I would imagine the milk would have......a little messy and hard to type one handed but NO MORE PAIN!!!!!! Thanks to everyone who posted on here Tue Oct 30 18:32:57 -0700 2007 1898038 138959 mamastew 2 4638009 I must also thank everyone for posting, the sour cream was magic. Tue Apr 28 23:26:47 -0700 2009 3081384 287099 bular26 3 4638048 I am very glad that someone else got relief from my sour cream experience -- that makes walking around for an hour with sour cream on my face and being laughed at my my family worth it! Wed Apr 29 00:31:14 -0700 2009 4638009 13525 JasmineG 1 3081791 Put your fingers in yogurt....and by all means do not touch any other parts of your body....and if you go to the bathroom be especially careful..... Tue Oct 30 21:37:16 -0700 2007 1898038 19117 Pollo 1 3099912 mayonaise Tue Nov 06 09:34:21 -0800 2007 1898038 60717 psawce 1 3100011 The best bet is to get the disposable latex/or rubber gloves that they use in medical offices since they aren't as awkward as the cleaning type. I learned the hard way. I didn't really feel the burn on my hands, but later on when I took out my contact lenses I was in pain... Tue Nov 06 09:55:06 -0800 2007 1898038 11701 MrsT 2 3102230 They sell those latex gloves at the variety store here something like ten for a buck. But I found that if I was doing a lot of peppers, the gloves only protected up to a point. After awhile my fingers still burned a little bit. Soaking in milk works. Tue Nov 06 21:34:32 -0800 2007 3100011 32586 revsharkie 3 4649517 >>They sell those latex gloves at the variety store here something like ten for a buck.<< One can also check the first aid section of drug stores for latex or latex free gloves. >>But I found that if I was doing a lot of peppers, the gloves only protected up to a point.<< Light duty latex gloves may allow for permeation of the juices found in hot peppers. Not for sure if those latex free gloves would be any better(?). Likely one would need a thicker glove, but a chemical resistant glove may be overkill. Sun May 03 01:10:10 -0700 2009 3102230 60276 RShea78 4 4751426 Some types of the thicker gloves do work. There's a Americanized Mexican chain here who has a food challenge of trying a drop of what they call the world's hottest hot sauce, and the person who handles the bottle wears says that the thick gloves do help keep any splashes from the sauce from hitting her skin. Sun Jun 07 18:52:30 -0700 2009 4649517 11781 beachmouse 1 4050438 wow, i did the same thing yesterday and found all these replies, but I think I have found the ultimate savior! It's called "Bactine"...it's a burn spray. You may need to reapply for a couple of hours, but it was INSTANT relief. It was the best thing ever...hope this helps! Happy hot peppering! Sat Sep 20 22:10:51 -0700 2008 1898038 227527 neekosmum19 1 4050444 I use the Aloe Vera Gel with Aloe Vera and Lidocaine..mainly for sunburns. I am such a jalapeno/serrano freak and for me..it works wonders! Sat Sep 20 22:18:10 -0700 2008 1898038 97452 Beach Chick 2 4051384 Yoghurt or soya yoghurt work for me, even when I managed to get some in my eyes once. Sun Sep 21 14:21:44 -0700 2008 4050444 198095 eleri5 1 4115306 I did this tonight mincing jalapenos! CRAZY burning sensation...read all the posts and was about to go get milk and/or sour cream...but instead poured "half & half! GONE! Cured it in an instant! Don't wash it off! Sun Oct 19 20:55:55 -0700 2008 1898038 233740 nkozak33 1 4287904 I usually can slice jalapenos without using gloves. I am careful not to touch my eyes after I do so. Not today. I just sliced 6 jalapenos that set my hands on fire. I used cold water and ice cold milk with no relief. I had just purchased some sour cream yesterday so after reading some of the posts here I figured that was the least chemically invasive way to stop the burn. I slathered the sour cream like cold creme, well actually it even looked that way. It was immediate relief. Just don't stick your hands back in water for awhile or they will start to burn again, I had to retreat again because I did. .I put some plastic gloves I had on top of that for a little while. Next time I will use the gloves I already had. Thanks for the tip for pain relief. I was making Campechana and used the fresh jalapenos in the recipe for flavor. Wow, were they hot! Thu Jan 01 12:19:41 -0800 2009 1898038 253201 alaskanellie 2 4287969 This thread is amazing. Eyes yes, mouth somewhat, genitals yes, inside of nose yes, but hands never. Not only have i never had a reaction on hand skin but not to any skin save those areas mentioned. All my friends cook and none bother with latex gloves ,though we all avoid handling our "sensitive areas" before a good wash. I had no idea prior to this thread that the comparatively mild jalapeno could irritate hands. Live and learn. dick Thu Jan 01 12:48:28 -0800 2009 4287904 148516 mr jig 3 4292173 Gabachos who don't ever cut up chile peppers can be burned even by poblanos (the kind of fresh mild chile used for chiles rellenos and chiles en nogada). Sat Jan 03 08:04:57 -0800 2009 4287969 10811 Das Ubergeek 4 4292782 This here gabacho found himself an unusually lively poblano yesterday. Discovered this by my usual method of picking out an eye-boogie sometime afterward... Sat Jan 03 12:25:26 -0800 2009 4292173 11478 Will Owen 2 4649823 when i lived in seoul a friend's mom came to make winter kimchee for us (fall harvest kim-chee). she was so happy that we let her use rubber gloves because when she made it at home her husband would not let her wear gloves, he said he could taste the rubber in the kim chee. the poor woman's hands would be red and irritated for days afterwards. Sun May 03 07:40:22 -0700 2009 4287904 57890 KaimukiMan 1 4670184 I have the answer for you all. I tried all of your suggestions, but was still in agony. I found another site where someone had called poison control for this problem. The answer was running your hands under as warm/hot water as you could stand. This will open up your pores and cause them to expel the jalapeno oil. I tried a million things tonight, and this one finally worked. It was VERY uncomfortable to use the remedy...but it beats burning skin all night long! Sun May 10 00:28:11 -0700 2009 1898038 291459 rjhjbaca 1 4747379 This is from Wikipedia: Treatment after exposure The primary treatment is removal from exposure. Contaminated clothing should be removed and placed in airtight bags to prevent secondary exposure. Capsaicin could be washed off the skin using soap, shampoo, or other detergents, or rubbed off with oily compounds such as vegetable oil, paraffin oil, petroleum jelly (Vaseline), creams, or polyethylene glycol. Plain water, as well as home remedies such as vinegar, bleach, sodium metabisulfite, or topical antacid suspensions are ineffective in removing capsaicin. Burning and pain symptoms can be effectively relieved by cooling, e.g., from ice, cold water, cold bottles, cold surfaces, or a flow of air from wind or a fan. In severe cases, eye burn might be treated symptomatically with topical ophthalmic anesthetics; mucous membrane burn with lidocaine gel. Capsaicin-induced asthma might be treated with nebulized bronchodilators or oral antihistamines or corticosteroids.[24] Fri Jun 05 20:50:13 -0700 2009 1898038 849569 dbgodinez1 1 4751343 tomatoes, slice up a tomato and rub your fingers and hands with this. I wear contact lens and found out the hard way I still had habanero, jalapeno and ortega chili stuff embed in my fingers. I remember a friend telling me about this and it worked. In a pinch I've also used canned whole tomatoes Sun Jun 07 18:20:00 -0700 2009 1898038 97593 Cinnabon 1 5011951 I chopped some peppers today and then took the edge of the knife to scrape the seeds off of my fingers. Big Mistake!!!!!!!!! About an hour later my left hand was on fire. I had to sit with it wrap in a freezer pack. Then my friend called to ask me something, and I in turn asked her if she knew of anything to get rid of this burning. She said to use ammonia. Did not have any of course, but did have one of those insect bite sticks which has ammonia in it. Rubbed it all over fingers and in between. What a difference. Burning is totally gone. Had to do it twice, but it did the trick. I'm telling you I was almost in tears. Mon Sep 07 17:11:05 -0700 2009 1898038 1107575 sprybird 2 5040254 I have no reason to dispute anyone's reported experience but i have the skin of a baby, not having done anything manual since leaving the USMC 50+ years ago and have never had a burn from an edible pepper. Rub eyes =pain. Touch genitals = pain Skin of hands =no pain. I am truly aghast and curious. I seek clarification... dick Fri Sep 18 12:38:54 -0700 2009 5011951 148516 mr jig 3 5155444 I'm with you on this, I don't remember my hands burning particularly except if I've cut a million chilis at a time (I use a Kyocera slicer if slicing them thinly). Eyes, etc., ouch. Wed Nov 04 10:40:28 -0800 2009 5040254 13709 buttertart 1 5043936 Interesting post! I generally consider myself to have extremely sensitive skin (if I rub myself even lightly, my skin is red for quite some time afterwards), but I don't have much problems with chillies. I regularly chop Thai chillies with my bare hands and while there is some burning, I never found it particularly distressing, and not enough to bother wearing gloves during the process. Now, the one time I chopped chillies and some time later tried to take out contact lenses was horrific! That's a lesson that only took once to learn. Sun Sep 20 11:43:50 -0700 2009 1898038 75881 vorpal 2 5154199 Yup Vorpal that is what happen to me, cut several pounds of chili, three hours later took contact lense out, blinded with pain for what seemed like hours!!! Rub fresh tomato on the fingers works GREAT! Wed Nov 04 00:29:34 -0800 2009 5043936 97593 Cinnabon 3 5155431 I found recently that a slice of cucumber held to my eye took away the sting immediately (was making a Chinese salad that called for both, fortunately). Wed Nov 04 10:37:45 -0800 2009 5154199 13709 buttertart 1 5208851 I've never had my hands burn after handling peppers until tonight. I chopped one very, very mild jalapeno. Two hours later, after cooking, eating and hand washing the dishes the palm side of my fingers and cuticles started burning and throbbing. A short soak in yogurt has diminished it a bit. I'm glad I remembered seeing this thread! It seems like the dish washing opened the pores and let the oil work into my skin. My fingers had been fine until then... Wed Nov 25 18:21:19 -0800 2009 1898038 111267 meatn3