habenero hands!!

MegaBuddha

Smogon.. For cinco de mayo at school somoeone had to make salsa for bonus.. So fuck it I thought it sounded fun.. I went out and got the pepers and tommatos.. Got home.. With no previous salsa experience..

And started to cut.little did I know the efects on your hands. I'm sure it was those little habeneros. My hands burn sooo bad! I know.. I'm an idiot I should have used gloves.. Too late! How do you neutralize the burn of a pepper on your skin?

I tried cooking oil, rubbing alchahol and just soap.. All only gave temperary relief! Help me smogon!
 
Dipping your hands in a strong base like 5M NaOH should work.

DO NOT DO WHAT I JUST SAID THAT WAS A JOKE AND YOU WILL GIVE YOURSELF MAJOR MAJOR CAUSTIC BURNS IF YOU TRY IT

To get serious here, you're going to want to wash your hands pretty thoroughly with dish soap. Make sure you wash really thoroughly with dish soap! Not that regular stuff, actual dish soap. It'll cause organic molecules that can't dissolve in water to form an emulsion with water and come off.

Whatever you do, don't just use water without dish soap. The burning is caused by a capsaicin oil that does not dissolve in water -- using only water will just potentially make it worse. You can't really use an organic solvent either, because dipping your hands in them can be pretty bad for your health. (They tend to defat the skin, among other things.)

If you got a cut you're probably screwed until its concentration goes down dramatically, but if you didn't you can probably get it off with dish soap.

Just remember that even though it burns, capsaicin is not an acid and cannot be neutralized with a base like baking soda. It's an organic molecule that interacts strongly with your nerves.
edit: On that last line, looking at the structure in the molecule, it looks like it is a weak acid because of that phenol group (the negative oxygen would cause conjugation with the phenyl ring). You can try baking soda -- maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. However, the point is probably moot since it doesn't dissolve in water anyway; it probably wouldn't give up the hydrogen as easily in organic solvents.
 
Oddly, Capsaisin is actually fat-soluble, which is why non-skim milk is the best drink to take chili burn out of your mouth. (This doesn't really apply here unless you want to rinse your hands with milk but whatevs)
 
oh god I have this "texas death sauce" at my house that's so insanely hot that it peels paint and tastes like death (but not from the burning, which is also death). I touched the bottle once and I guess some residue somehow got outside the bottle.

Well, suffice to say my girlfriend was not too pleased later that evening when my hands and lips had traces of it on it. Lesson learned: wear a diaper or be very careful if you do go to the bathroom.

Surgo: you probably know better than I on this, so I'll direct it at you. Is it true that capcacin acts on the burn receptors and response and thusly can cause blistering if misused to an extreme? Show us all how much of a mythbuster you are!
 
I don't think so. It only binds to the neuron that detects that sort of temperature and passes the signal along to the brain, it doesn't actually cause any damage to the tissue. Blisters and stuff like that are caused by actual damage, not just the nerves firing.
 
Yeah, capsaicin is awesome like that. Like others have said, use dish soap to get rid of the sting.

Another tip for dealing with peppers hotter than jalapenos: NEVER RUB YOUR EYES BEFORE WASHING YOUR HANDS. Your hands are easy enough to wash, but getting residue in your eyes can be a real bitch. I had a friend help me prepare some chili once, and she rubbed her eyes after cutting up some jalapenos. She cried for about an hour, and keep in mind, habaneros are anywhere from 40 to 140 times hotter. I'm bolding this so you won't have any unfortunate accidents in the future.
 
for future reference, a common household remedy in india for capsiacin burns (which are pretty common, let me assure you) involves kneading flour. just take some flour, mix it with some water and rub it on your palms. tried and tested, works well.
 
Nothing worked that I tried. I woke up and all day at school it still burned until about 1. It stopped burning around then. But jesus these habeneros are strong. I was with my girlfriend after school and I'll leave it to your imagination but she started experiencing a burning somewhere a few minutes later.

Those peppers are no joke! The good news is the class loved my salsa. I'll never make the mistake of not using gloves again but I wish I had that flour advice sooner it seems like it would have worked. Thanks!
 
Hey, you might just have a future in making Salsa.

Nah, just kidding.

Anyways, when I get a burn, usually 1st degree, I usually just put a cold pack or ice on the spot of the burn.
 
weak. be a man and take it.
alternatively, butter is odd but it works. don't forget to wash your hands.
 
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