Buzz
Hot peppers like Jalapeño, Cayenne, and Habanero contain capsaicin, the same ingredient found in pepper spray. Capsaicin adds heat and flavor to food but can also cause a strong burning sensation on your skin, other parts of the body, or inside your mouth. Fortunately, there are many natural remedies, such as milk, that can help soothe the burn.
Steps
Soothing skin burns caused by hot chili peppers
Use dishwashing liquid when your hands or skin are burned from chili oils. Many people report a severe burning sensation on their skin when exposed to chili oil. While hand soap can help, dishwashing liquid is more effective at dissolving the chili oil.
- You can dip your fingers into a bleach-water mixture (5:1 ratio) while cutting hot peppers.
- The bleach will turn capsaicin into a water-soluble salt, allowing you to rinse it off with water.
- Be careful not to get bleach on the peppers. Wash your hands thoroughly with dishwashing liquid after cutting the peppers.
Use alcohol to soothe your hands or other skin areas. Chili oil and capsaicin (the culprit behind the burning sensation) dissolve in alcohol.
- Sprinkle isopropyl alcohol on your hands. Even if you use other methods to cool your hands, you can use isopropyl alcohol to clean them.
- Choose a high-proof alcohol like vodka. Rub the alcohol onto your hands or the affected skin area to cleanse the chili oil.
- Another option is to create a mixture of baking soda and water. Apply the paste to your hands and wait for it to dry before rinsing off.
Soak your hands in a bowl of milk. Opt for cold milk. Add a few ice cubes to the bowl. Soaking your hands in an ice-water bowl also helps but is less effective.
- Some people report that the burning sensation from chili peppers can be incredibly painful and last for hours. It's understandable why you'd want to find something that provides immediate relief.
- Try adding flour to the bowl of milk to form a paste. Apply the mixture to your hands and leave it on for a few minutes before washing off.
- Apply isopropyl alcohol to your hands before soaking them in the ice water or cold milk. Milk is the best option, and cold milk works even better.
Apply oil to your hands or other areas of skin affected by the burn. Chili oil will dissolve in another type of oil, helping to reduce the burn sensation. You can also apply Vaseline to your hands.
- Apply a small amount of vegetable oil or olive oil to your hands before cutting chili peppers or after you've been burned by them.
- Don't use too much oil, as it could make your hands slippery and increase the risk of injury while handling a knife. Be cautious when touching others (especially children) after having chili oil on your hands, as you may transfer the oil.
- Cover your hands with a thin layer of oil to prevent burns in the first place. Oil also helps soothe the burn after you've touched a chili pepper. You can soak your hands in a bowl of olive oil or vegetable oil.
Sooth the burning sensation in your eyes from chili peppers. Eye irritation is common when you accidentally rub your eyes after handling hot peppers.
- The first and most important step is to avoid touching your eyes in the first place. If you can't avoid it, you can apply milk to your eyes to reduce the burning sensation.
- Dip a cotton pad or tissue into a bowl of milk and gently apply it around your eyes, similar to how you'd use a cold compress.
- You may need to repeat the process several times to get enough relief, as chili oil can cause a prolonged burn. If the irritation persists or affects your vision, consult a doctor.
- If the burn continues for a long time, you can create and wear an eye mask made of cotton or tissue. Use a butterfly clip and gauze to secure it.
Soothing the burning sensation in your mouth
Use cold milk. Instead of drinking water, opt for milk. The fats and oils found in dairy products can help ease the burning sensation by dissolving capsaicin.
- Pour yourself a glass of full-fat milk and drink it all. Always rinse your mouth thoroughly before drinking milk. If full-fat milk isn't available, alternatives like sour cream or whole milk yogurt can also work well.
- Milk works similarly to soap by dissolving capsaicin and reducing the burning sensation in your mouth. The casein protein in milk acts like a detergent for capsaicin. The burning sensation caused by spicy peppers comes from capsaicinoids, a group of molecules.
- Cream can also help alleviate the burning sensation. Any dairy product can soothe the heat. Coconut milk can also help reduce the burn and adjust the spiciness of your dish.
Avoid drinking water. You may not believe it, but drinking water won't actually relieve the burning sensation. In fact, water can spread capsaicin around your mouth and make the burning feel worse.
- Soda, which is primarily water, won’t help either. Drinking coffee will likely make you feel hotter because coffee is hot as well. Capsaicin has an oil-like quality and will repel water.
- The burning sensation in your mouth won’t last as long as a burn on your skin. This happens when capsaicin binds with pain receptors in your mouth through a chemical reaction.
- When the temperature in your mouth exceeds 42°C, your nerve cells will recognize it, and capsaicin will trigger neurons that respond to this heat.
Drink alcoholic beverages. Beer won't be effective because its main component is water, but stronger alcoholic drinks can help reduce the burning sensation in your mouth.
- Take a few sips of vodka. Besides relieving the burn, vodka can also leave a sweet taste in your mouth (as long as you don’t drink too much).
- Alcohol helps to alleviate the burn when you come into contact with spicy peppers. Many types of hard liquor have similar effects.
- Always be cautious when consuming alcoholic beverages. Don’t drink too much, don’t drink before reaching the legal drinking age, and never drive after drinking.
Use other oils to relieve the burn. Swishing olive oil or vegetable oil can help treat the burn in your mouth by protecting your tongue.
- These oils or peanut butter, which are rich in fats and oils, provide an effective natural solution.
- The fats and oils in these ingredients break down the heat from the spicy peppers, thus reducing the burn.
- It might seem counterintuitive, but you need to fight the hot oil with another type of oil. Therefore, cold water won’t be as effective as vegetable oil or olive oil.
Eat starches. You can consume starches if your mouth is burning from spicy peppers.
- Although not as effective at dissolving capsaicin as fats, oils, or alcohol, starches like rice and bread can also soothe the burn.
- This is why spicy food is often paired with rice (or potatoes) in many cuisines, especially in Asian countries and India.
- Eating a spoonful of sugar can help reduce the burn. Mix one tablespoon of sugar with 270 ml of water and swish your mouth with the sugar water. Alternatively, you can suck on a teaspoon of honey.
Try using home remedies. Many people believe that certain fruits and vegetables can help soothe a burning mouth from spicy food.
- Eat cucumber. This is a common remedy for cooling down the heat in dishes from Indonesia and Thailand. Bananas can also help, as their texture and sugar content provide relief from the burn.
- Try chocolate. The fat content in most chocolate bars helps neutralize the capsaicin in your mouth. Milk chocolate typically has higher fat and casein levels compared to dark chocolate, so it may work even better to relieve the discomfort.
- Use a soft corn tortilla to press against the burn (whether on your mouth or lips…). You could also try biting into a raw carrot, which can significantly reduce the burning sensation.
- White toothpaste can help reduce the burning sensation from hot peppers like habaneros. This ingredient works best for soothing mouth burns but can also help alleviate pain from other peppers. Eating a slice of lemon (either whole or juiced) can also help, as the acidity in the lemon breaks down the capsaicin.
Preventing burns from hot peppers
Wear gloves. If you're handling hot peppers without gloves, you could burn your hands from the oils in the peppers.
- Your hands will burn, sting, and you should avoid touching your eyes after coming into contact with pepper oils. The best solution is to wear vinyl or latex gloves.
- Pepper varieties like Thai, Serrano, and Habanero can cause similar burns.
- The burning sensation is caused by pepper oil and capsaicin. This could even become more severe if you touch your eyes while wearing contact lenses, which will cause extreme discomfort.
You can use a bread bag as a temporary glove. If you don't have gloves available, look around for alternative items to protect your hands.
- Wrap a bread bag around your hand before chopping peppers. You can secure it with an elastic band around your wrist.
- If you don't have gloves or plastic bags, you can wrap paper towels around your hand or any other material that can prevent the pepper oil from touching your skin.
- Wear transparent protective glasses and thoroughly wash your hands and nails after handling spicy peppers to avoid eye irritation.
Get used to the burning sensation. While the burning feeling in your mouth isn't exactly enjoyable, some evidence suggests that regularly consuming hot peppers may be beneficial to your health. So, you could try increasing your tolerance for spice.
- Instead of reaching for sweet snacks, you might want to consume hot peppers when you're low on energy.
- Though the burning sensation in your mouth may decrease, the metabolism-boosting effect of capsaicin remains intact; meaning you'll still benefit from its effects as enzymes in your liver break down capsaicin.
- Capsaicin can boost energy levels, accelerate metabolism, assist in weight loss, and improve overall health.
Advice
- Incorporating ingredients that are rich in natural sugars (such as grated carrots, sautéed onions, etc.) into dishes with spicy chili can help balance the heat. The sugar will "block" the burning sensation, so while the spiciness remains, it won’t be the first taste you experience and the heat won't overpower the other flavors.
- You could try eating a few slices of bread.
- Tomato sauce or tomato juice can also soothe the burning sensation caused by spicy chili.
- The burning feeling will gradually subside.
- Eating salty crackers before drinking sugary water can help. The salt absorbs both the liquid and the chili oil, soothing the burn.
Warning
- Avoid allowing spicy chili to come into contact with open wounds.
- Be cautious not to let chili touch your eyes, nose, or any open area, as it will cause intense pain. Pepper spray is also made from spicy chili.
- Soap and water will have difficulty removing capsaicin completely. It's best to wear gloves when handling chili if you wear contact lenses.
