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Odd question here

S

SpazHairlip

Can you actually hurt yourself or die from eating hot stuff? A friend of mine asked me while I was feeding him grilled stuffed habaneras and a shrimp, avacado, pico, lemon salad topped with Wanza's Wicked Temptation.

He said the roof of his mouth was burning through to the bone, his throat was bleeding, and he was going to have a heart attack. I told him to man up and drink more beer, which he did, and a few hours later he was laughing about it. But none the less he made me curious about it.

Thanks
 
Theoretically, it is possible to die from capsacium exposure. You can receive chemical burns from exposure to high concentrations, and it the throat/larynx constrict when exposed to large quantities of capsacinoids.

Realistically speaking, you probably wouldn't die, but you can cause serious damage to yourself if you don't handle things properly or consumed higher quantities than your body can tolerate.
 
Interesting response. I don’t consider myself a heat freak, but I can eat a habanera and be all happy inside. Are we talking in the 4 million+ range to cause burns or can this happen in the jalapeno 2500 range?
 
Extracts usually are the ones that cause burns, although many people have been burned in the harvesting process. Large scale habanero producers use nitrile gloves because handling habaneros straight from the plant can cause burns.
 
dreamtheatervt said:
Extracts usually are the ones that cause burns, although many people have been burned in the harvesting process. Large scale habanero producers use nitrile gloves because handling habaneros straight from the plant can cause burns.
Click to expand...

Really, I've never had a plant cause me an issue unless I was seeding it and took a deep breath. The only reason I wear gloves when I clean out the seeds, even with my silver bullets, is so that I don’t accidentally burn my eyes if I don’t wash off well enough. But I've never had a skin or chemical burn. Even with the Dorset Naga peppers.
 
Just remember, just because you haven't had a problem yet doesn't mean you will always be safe in the future. Also, there is a difference between handling a 10-25 and 10,000-25,000.
 
dreamtheatervt said:
Just remember, just because you haven't had a problem yet doesn't mean you will always be safe in the future. Also, there is a difference between handling a 10-25 and 10,000-25,000.
Click to expand...

Well I'll know when I handle my Bhuts this spring, but I have never had an issue even with the Naga's (hottest I've grown so far) unless I break the skin and get the liquid in the nose or eye (or worse) area.
 
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