Pepper on the Face- remedy for the pain.

Hi! So before I write about this Peanut Sauce I made, I thought I should say something about getting hot pepper on your skin, face, hands, etc.

Actually, It's quite dumb of me, but I have an awful habit of using just regular black pepper (taking a pinch with my fingers) and then forgetting and rubbing my eyes. I got it really bad the other day and it took at least 20 minutes of squirting my water bottle in my face in front of a fan and crying before it was bearable again.

So yesterday, I made that peanut sauce. It calls for hot pepper and I have some dried up red peppers. I took the red pepper and crushed it a bit and then ground it up with the peanuts into everything was very small. Of course I used my hands to split up parts of the pepper, put seeds in the grinder, etc. I even used my (scrubbed clean always) fingers to get some of the peanut/pepper mixture out of the grinder. Somehow, I don't know how, the pepper ended up making it way to the backs of my hands. They started itching a bit, but I didn't think much of it- it wasn't severe. I had an itchy nose... I scratched it. I washed my hands both before and after I scratched it.

I didn't realize how potent the stuff in peppers can be. Despite washing my hands, about 30 minutes later, my face around my nose- top, sides, just around the edges... BURNING. I'm so thankful that my eyes didn't itch!!! They were okay, but still watering because of the pain that was my entire nose area. It was bad. I couldn't see that well, but I found my water bottle and started spraying and standing in front of the fan. Didn't really work... I crashed around till I got to my computer and I sprayed as I one-hand googled hot pepper remedies. I got some suggestions that were just insane- especially on my face (like bleach!!!). I saw milk, so I poured some on a napkin and it worked a bit, but only while it was touching the area... as soon as it dried, burn was back.

What worked finally? (Hamdullah!!!)

Vodka... I had a little in my fridge. It said to try alcohol so I soaked a napkin in it and rubbed my face like I was using rubbing alcohol as a cleaner. It took a minute, but it worked.

Lesson learned?

When you handle peppers with your bare hands, DO NOT RUB YOUR FACE even after you wash your hands... The stuff takes quite a while to come off. My hands just itched, but on sensitive skin, like your face, it hurts much worse. Next time I'll use the alcohol on my hands. I read that the heat in peppers is caused by an oil substance that won't necessarily be cut by regular soap, but alcohol should be effective... It is. Yayyy!