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Gardening Mishap (lemy.lol)
submitted 1 day ago by to c/funny@sh.itjust.works
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[–] 23 points 23 hours ago (5 children)

It is NOT a chemical burn. It's an activation of TRPV1 receptors. Normally these receptors activate due to increased temperature, capsaicin activation means they think there's literally an increase in temperature. They THINK you're burning, but you're not. There's no chemical burn; it's reversible and generally safe with no lasting damage.

Your fat soluble comments are accurate, although it's really time more than anything else that will alleviate the pain. You do not need to soak your hands in oil before washing, not sure where you got that from. Soap and water works fine.

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  • [–] 5 points 23 hours ago (4 children)

    You do not need to soak your hands in oil before washing, not sure where you got that from. Soap and water works fine.

    I should clarify that my comment was assuming that, like in the OP, someone was handling a Carolina Reaper. Capsaicin being fat-soluble should mean that it dissolves into the oil and then gets carried away by the dish soap. I've never had to use this personally, since just dish soap and water has always worked fine for me.

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  • [–] 5 points 22 hours ago

    The oil can also be more practical than medicinal: I know yard crew workers who slather down in motor oil when exposed to poison ivy -- not to negate the effects of the plant's urushiol oil, but to provide a visual cue as to when they've scrubbed thoroughly enough with soap and water to remove ANY oil: If you still see motor oil, you haven't washed enough to remove the urushiol, either.

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  • [–] 4 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

    My point there is that soap already dissolves and carries away fat and water soluble compounds, being that it has hydrophilic and hydrophobic tails. Appreciate your edit and your reference, good deep dive! You taught me something new, thank you

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  • [–] 1 point 7 hours ago (1 child)

    It's easier to get the oil to fully cover your hands and stay in place long enough to really cling to all the spicy stuff. With a few ounces, you can really cover your hands, get throughly under you finger nails, and feel out any spots you might have missed with just soap and water. The real trick is to use dish soap after. Hand soap doesn't have the same oil and grease grabbing strength. It works like you said, but because now you've basically painted your hands in oil, you can really feel how well you're getting all the oils off your hands. You're essentially making a solution of oil and spicy solute, diluting it before washing the solution away. If the dish soap only gets 99% of the stuff off my hands, I'd rather that remaining %1 be mostly oil with some dissolved spicy solute, than %1 of the just spicy stuff.

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