# Why do some people sweat when eating spicy foods **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 15, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-sweat-when-eating-spicy-foods/364641 "2006-07-15T19:12:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dawson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@dawson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dawson)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-sweat-when-eating-spicy-foods/364641/1 "2006-07-15T19:12:29Z")
and some don’t. I eat five medium chicken wings, or a roti, and I sweat like I just ran the Boston Marathon. And yet I know some poeple (most, I think) that don’t perspire at all, regardless of how spicy the food they’re eating. Is sweating an allergic reaction? Is it an inherited trait? Whats the scoop? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-sweat-when-eating-spicy-foods/364641/2 "2006-07-15T19:27:40Z")
AFAIK, it’s related to how intense the seasoning feels to the person (one builds up a tolerance to spiciness over time). I know that unless I eat something that’s blistering hot (and a lot of it) I won’t start sweating. ---
**Author:** ![Burrido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-sweat-when-eating-spicy-foods/364641/3 "2006-07-15T20:18:53Z")
Not only do I sweat like a mofo’, my nose runs too. It looks like I’ve been crying if I eat some really hot stuff. ---
**Author:** ![seenidog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@seenidog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seenidog)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-sweat-when-eating-spicy-foods/364641/4 "2006-07-15T21:11:37Z")
I like to eat spicey foods from time to time, I love a chorizo burrito, and give a shake or two of hot sauce on spagetti, and a bit of the hot stuff on brats. Usually no prob. A coworker gave a bottle of mad dog 357 sauce, I put a couple drops in a bowl of chili and I damn near died. My eyes were running, probably trying to keep up with my nose which was also running, my lips were numb, I had sweat running off my face dripping onto my shirt, I swear my hair was sweating. I think is just what you are used to. After I recovered from near death, I read the bottle. 357,000 SCO. I was used to the 2000-4000 range. Tabasco and a little hotter. I had crossed into the pro zone. Lesson learned, read the bottle first…Anyone up for a halloween party including “Bobbing for habinaros”? First one to get one gets to suck the tank dry trying to put out the fire… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-sweat-when-eating-spicy-foods/364641/5 "2006-07-16T01:56:52Z")
Capsaicin, the chemical which makes peppers hot, stimulates the sympathetic nervous system (among other things) which in turn enervates sweat glands. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-sweat-when-eating-spicy-foods/364641/6 "2006-07-16T07:01:45Z")
On the British motoring show “Top Gear”, presenter Richard Hammond got a hold of a pepper so hot that he put on gloves to pick it up. He then got up the nerve to touch it to his tongue. The in-car camera showed him driving back to the studio. He was crying like his mother had died. ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-sweat-when-eating-spicy-foods/364641/7 "2006-07-16T10:38:01Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Capsaicin, the chemical which makes peppers hot, stimulates the sympathetic nervous system (among other things) which in turn enervates sweat glands. Thank you, **QtM**. I didn’t know that. (Now I do.)