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chinense Carolina Reaper pepper causes thunderclap headache

I ate a whole reaper last year that was grown by ed currie himself. Was the hottest thing I've ever eaten. The pain is one thing (goes away realatively quickly) but the extreme stomach cramps that kept me up all night was what made me regret it. I do have to say this though, at the time I was really stressed out with my business and I was having heart palpitations all day every day. After eating that reaper, I haven't had a single palpitation since. No joke.
 
Nope. He had a pre-existing condition; namely: RCVS. That's why he got the Thunderclap Headaches. The article did not prove that it was the pepper that gave him RCVS.

But you know how journalists are, always trying to demonize things, act as if the skies are falling and use as much click-bait as possible. It is really disgusting sometimes.

The title could very easily be something like: "Super-hot chilli pepper catalyst to diagnosis of pre-existing condition", or "Patient has his condition diagnosed in time thanks to Super-hot chilli pepper".
But no, the Carolina Reaper has to be demonized because it has a strange name and not many people can handle it. Dark ages stuff...

 
 
Headaches seem to be a mystery a lot of the time. If I'm outside all day when it's cold out (like really cold), I often get a pounding headache about a half hour after I come in from the cold to a warm house. I'm fine all day in the cold. It's also weird that a hot shower usually cures my headache. I've asked numerous people if the same thing happens to them, and I've yet to find a single person with the same problem. It's been happening for 25+ years now.

I dunno...
 
I think that peppers (or the compounds in them) can have curative effects.. What they are and what they do is debatable I suppose but the bottom line is that they are pretty damn tasty and I think most people here can agree on that. Lol
 
Ares Schizas said:
Nope. He had a pre-existing condition; namely: RCVS. That's why he got the Thunderclap Headaches. The article did not prove that it was the pepper that gave him RCVS.

But you know how journalists are, always trying to demonize things, act as if the skies are falling and use as much click-bait as possible. It is really disgusting sometimes.

The title could very easily be something like: "Super-hot chilli pepper catalyst to diagnosis of pre-existing condition", or "Patient has his condition diagnosed in time thanks to Super-hot chilli pepper".
But no, the Carolina Reaper has to be demonized because it has a strange name and not many people can handle it. Dark ages stuff...
Click to expand...
 

Are we sure it's not, say, a pre-existing capsaicin "allergy" that the guy assumed was normal until his body overreacted to this extent?
The article does seem to suggest that it's the way the body reacts to some medicines it doesn't agree with so why not peppers?
 
muskymojo said:
Headaches seem to be a mystery a lot of the time. If I'm outside all day when it's cold out (like really cold), I often get a pounding headache about a half hour after I come in from the cold to a warm house. I'm fine all day in the cold. It's also weird that a hot shower usually cures my headache. I've asked numerous people if the same thing happens to them, and I've yet to find a single person with the same problem. It's been happening for 25+ years now.

I dunno...
Click to expand...
 
That sounds to me like you have a problem with pressure buildup inside your head. Pressure normalises over the long period outside but air can't escape quick enough once you're in again and it's expanding from the warmth. Not sure how the shower fits in, perhaps there's some degree of unevenness to it fixed by warming you through?
 
Dude eats a reaper
Reaper causes dry heaves.
Dry heaves causes a spike in blood pressure.
A spike in blood pressure causes a thunderclap headache.
Anything that will cause dry heaves can do that.

When I eat a lot of peppers it usually has the opposite effect has a vasodilator, giving me that pepper high.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/27826-habanero-headache/
Click to expand...
 
Not thunderclap headaches.
Any strain may be a trigger for normal headaches. Just a headache is not enough for diagnosing anything other than a headache.

The article mentions that thunderclap headaches are associated with vessel damage in the brain, therefore, it is like saying that eating super-hot peppers causes brain damage. Yet, 2.500.000-5.000.000 SHU is the range of police/military pepper sprays. A "meek" Reaper is usually around 1.500.000 SHU with the highest scoring pods scoring a little under the 2.500.000 mark.

Now, of course, this does not mean that there are not people who can't handle super-hots and they will have to be hospitalized after eating them, or that eating super-hots might result in disability or death for them, but such cases are so rare that no correlation can or should be made.

As everything else, it should be done responsibly. Build tolerance slowly and allow your digestive system to get used to hotter and hotter peppers gradually. The first time is the worst, the second time is when it starts to get groovy.
 
Four things consistently cause headaches for me.  (I suffer from fairly frequent low-level migraines.)
1-Dehydration.
2-Lack of sleep.
3-Lack of caffeine,
4-Bud Lite/cheap wine.  (Used to think this was related to dehydration, but it isn't.  A single Bud Lite will give me a rockin'' headache that will likely become a migraine i i don't douse it (my skull) in caffeine early on. 
 
So, yeah, i am lucky in that they're mostly preventable for me, except the lack of sleep factor, which is tougher to control due to my insomnia, sleep apnea, and hectic schedule.  But, despite being prone to headaches and into eatin' Superhots, I have never ever ever gotten a headache from a chile.
 
I agree with other folks above:  this guy had a medical condition which may have been triggered and/or exacerbated from eating that pod.   
 
The Hot Pepper said:
 
I didn't say they were I provided a link I thought was useful. :)
Click to expand...
 

Didn't said that you did. I just thought that a distinction between the two was necessary to avoid confusion. ;)
I was suffering from regular headaches as a kid and as teenager and I do have a little bit of First Aid experience so I added my two cents.


Bicycle808,
1-3: I would be surprised if there is someone who does not. They are true for me too.

Some of my triggers:
1. Alcohol + Caffeine 
2. Chlorine
3. Exposure to lots of cigar smoke
 
I really doubt if the article will stop anyone from eating super-hots. If anything, it will make people more curious. I don't think people would even stop if it made them shoot flames out of their a$$es. They'd probably see it as a neat party trick.
 
Edmick said:
I ate a whole reaper last year that was grown by ed currie himself. Was the hottest thing I've ever eaten. The pain is one thing (goes away realatively quickly) but the extreme stomach cramps that kept me up all night was what made me regret it. I do have to say this though, at the time I was really stressed out with my business and I was having heart palpitations all day every day. After eating that reaper, I haven't had a single palpitation since. No joke.
Click to expand...
Your brave if I had heart palpitations I would AVOID eating a whole Reaper lol
 
I used to get seasonal migraines, knock on wood, i haven't had them in years.

The only thing that would do more than just slighty dull them is eating hot peppers.


Personally, I would be more worried about the Thunder Crap, than the Thunder Clap, after eating a whole Reaper.

Edit: have to love the timing for this, with puckerbutts new death nut challenge.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhhARMRlRSa/
 
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