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Sometimes, when I ingest a hot pepper (or something else hot, like Dave’s Insanity Sauce) there is a temporary sensation of it being hard to breathe - kind of like that feeling you get when the wind is knocked out of you. What causes this?
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I have read that people who ingest too much capsaicin can get really really painful cramps that make them “pray for death”…what causes said cramps?
Capsaicin activates pain (more specifically, temperature/abrasion) nerve sensors. While no physical/chemical damage actually occurs at the site of the exposure, your body does not know that. So it responds to the impact of the pepper/sauce as it would to sudden painful physical trauma - adrenaline, muscle contractions, goosebumps, sweats, shock. Your short struggle to breathe reflects all these things going on.
As for the cramps, the oily capsaicin travels through your intestinal tract, irritating as it goes. You have nerve sensors through your entire body. It is no wonder your body tries to get rid of it, by triggering violent peristaltic contractions to get it through and out (via the ring of fire) as quickly as possible. Also, because many internal organs do not have localised pain sensors, irritation/contraction of the gut can cause referred visceral pain across the entire lower torso.
Si