You've got the juice on your fingers...Now what?!

Pepperfreak said:
If you guys aren't wearing gloves, STOP You must read this before continuing.

14th April - The Worst Day of my Chile Life! (scroll down until you see this entry). This is a journal entry by Mark over at thechileman.org. You can do damage to the nerves in your hands if you get a serious exposure.
Click to expand...

A few years ago I had the same experience as the chileman when i processed a couple hundred tabascos with bare hands. The capsaicin started off on my fingers and actually worked its way up my hand and finally stopped halfway up my forearm. No amount of washing with soap, milk or any other trick worked since it penetrated past the skin. It was excruciating and took 10 hours to clear. Needless to say I always where gloves now.
 
Try rubbing your hands in oil (motor oil, or cooking oil). This will dissolve the capsicum and make it easier to wash off. Then wipe your hands and wash them with a good automotive hand cleaner like GoJo or Fast Orange. If you want to you can then wash with soap and water, but I've found that it usually isn't needed.



Alan
 
Well, I'm certainly a glove convert, but these other ideas are great for the times when you just cut one or two pods and need to go to the loo!

Thanks, fellas!
 
a good trick also is to get a bowl of ice water and soak your hands in it BEFORE you start cutting, this will close the pores and helps keep the oil from soaking in it wont stop all of it but it helps, and afterwards always use cold water when you wash, warm or hot water will open the pores and the cap will soak in and stay in your skin longer... now after that being said, I say just use the NITRILE GLOVES! lol :)
 
Thanks, WM -

Good point. The problem comes in when you just cut up 'one or two' and figure you won't get capsaicin on your fingers...heh heh!
 
Food should be eaten, not absorbed or inhaled. Anything Jalapeño or hotter, I suit up and practice safe peppering. It's a very good idea if you want to stay on the good side of your old lady, and DEFINITELY a good idea if you have young children.

Hunt-
As others have said, good nitrile gloves are now available at most every decent sized auto supply shop as well as most pharmacies. Nitrile gloves are now the standard in medical, law enforcement and industrial industries because they are nonporous, unlike latex, and they also afford some puncture protection as well. Another good idea is to use a barrier cream prior to gloving up. Since most readily available gloves barely come up to the wrist, this leaves a lot of exposed skin. I started using Derma Shield in the oilfield long ago and I use it now if I'm handling the hots, even if I'm wearing gloves. The barrier cream is rubbed on like a lotion. It doesn't leave a greasy residue, but it most definitely does block the oils and makes for easy cleanup- and it makes sure there won't be any big surprises later on in the day when you need to offload some used beer! :onfire:
The home remedies quite simply do not work nearly as well as products that are engineered for the job.
 
I agree. If I glove up, I usually end up just touching stuff all over the kitchen and spread it everywhere.

Usually after it is on my hands my standard procedure is usually
1. rub eye or eyes
2. go to the bathroom
3. wonder why I always do that
 
Barrier cream was something I had certainly not considered, Hinky - good call!

I've tried the 'consciously cautious' approach, but I'm too darn clumsy, man! LOL!

LOL @ Boutros! ;-)
 
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