I made fresh salsa abaout 4 hours ago, I used jalapenos, banana peppers and salsa peppers among other things.I tried to minimize damage by deseeding them under fresh running water.Now hours later my hands are burning more then after I finished. So any ideas on how to get rid of the burn?Washing my hands didn’t help.
I know that dairy products work while capsaicin is in the mouth – fresh milk completely neutralizes it in my experience. You might try it, tho I don’t know if it works with the skin.
Turpentine if you have it handy (haha), otherwise pretty much any oil you have in the kitchen will do to get it off your hands.
Do not let your hands get anywhere near your eyes!
Capsaicin is soluble in oil, fat, alcohol and vinegar, so any of those should work. The cheapest solution is probably to wash your hands with cooking oil or a full-fat dairy product (in other words, NOT skim milk).
BTW I hope you were typing with rubber gloves on …
Capsaicin is soluble in oil, fat, alcohol and vinegar, so any of those should work. The cheapest solution is probably to wash your hands with cooking oil or a full-fat dairy product. Capsaicin is soluble in oil, fat, alcohol and vinegar, so any of those should work. The cheapest solution is probably to wash your hands with cooking oil or a full-fat dairy product.
Wow, quick responces.Many thanks. I’ve tried washing my hands with oil. No luck. I think the capsin must have penetrated my hands because since I’ve made the salsa I’ve taken a shower, washed my hair, rubbed lotin all over my body, and only my hands burn. They burned just a little after I was done cutting the peppers, but as I stated in the OP they’ve been getting worse instead of better. I’m puzzeled, I can’t remember my hands ever burning more the later it got.I was sooo close yesterday to picking up latex gloves just for this purpose.Why oh why did I cheap out??
I didn’t mean to bring this up again,but I have to.Is it possible to physically burn your hands with capsin? When I woke up my hands were fine,but as about 1:00 p.m. I went outside and got in the pool, my hand has been burning again since then.Mostly under my thumb nail, from where I was deseeding the peppers.
This has happened to me, too. Owie! My sympathies.
I think it’s less likely that you “burned” yourself than that there was just a really stubborn deposit of capsaicin (uh, not capsin, by the way ) dug in there deeply. Maybe the chlorine in the pool redissolved it a little after you soaked in the water for a while? The skin under your nail is a lot more sensitive than other skin.
I do know it’s possible to “burn” your tongue with hot cinnamon candies, the kind with artificial cinnamon flavoring – I’ve done it a few times and it’s the strangest thing. The whole surface of my tongue peels, just like a sunburn. But I’ve never had a similar experience with capsaicin even though I (over)indulge in hot peppers and salsas often.
Capsaicin is an alkaloid. Your best bets are acidic products. Soap is alkaline, and, as you know, doesn’t help. Milk is mildly acidic, so it offers relief. Vinegar and food oils are also acidic. Your skin will absorb some of the capsaisin, so the irritation may be stubborn.