Help a girl with burning hands !

[viva]

I had this problem a number of years ago when cleaning a case (yes, an entire case) of anaheim chilies. These are very mild, but the constant rubbing of the cut edges along my fingers caused them to burn and even blister! My whole hands turned bright red too.

I tried the yogurt, cream milk, soap and water soak to no avail. I was in a lot of pain so I called poison control. They said they get calls about this most often from states in the southwest, not often from NY.

The fellow on the other end of the line explained that capsaisin is a concentrated base, or alkaline, and that the burning is similar to a burn from  lye, though obviously, not as bad. He suggested soaking my hands in ordinary vinegar as the acid in the vinegar neutralizes the base.

I did that and the pain was gone instantaneously!!

I still love chilies of any sort and now when I get the burn anywhere I go striaght to the bottle of white vinegar. I dilute 4:1 it if using it near my eyes and it still works.

The use of milk products is popular and works in the mouth due to the lactic acid in milk, but the skin does not absorb it as quickly, I guess, so yogurt does not work as well for chili burns on the skin.

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God bless you. I apparently drank some stupid juice tonight, and foolishly chopped two habaneros (and seeded them with my bare fingers!). I tried the oil, tried milk, tried lotion - all to no avail. Then remembered this thread - and the vinegar suggestion. Instantaneous indeed!

Now, of course, my hands smell like cider vinegar, as that was the closest on hand.

[nonblonde007]

What works great for me is lemon or lime juice. Generaly, I have those on the counter any time I am using peppers , they go so well together. I just squeeze a bit on my hands or roll the empty carcass of one between my hands, rub them together well and rinse. Wallah! no more burn!

[judiu]

I had this problem a number of years ago when cleaning a case (yes, an entire case) of anaheim chilies. These are very mild, but the constant rubbing of the cut edges along my fingers caused them to burn and even blister! My whole hands turned bright red too.

I tried the yogurt, cream milk, soap and water soak to no avail. I was in a lot of pain so I called poison control. They said they get calls about this most often from states in the southwest, not often from NY.

The fellow on the other end of the line explained that capsaisin is a concentrated base, or alkaline, and that the burning is similar to a burn from  lye, though obviously, not as bad. He suggested soaking my hands in ordinary vinegar as the acid in the vinegar neutralizes the base.

I did that and the pain was gone instantaneously!!

I still love chilies of any sort and now when I get the burn anywhere I go striaght to the bottle of white vinegar. I dilute 4:1 it if using it near my eyes and it still works.

The use of milk products is popular and works in the mouth due to the lactic acid in milk, but the skin does not absorb it as quickly, I guess, so yogurt does not work as well for chili burns on the skin.

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OMG! I wish I'd known this years ago when I was making a crudite platter for a party with a bunch of chile heads! I had never worked with hot peppers before, but these were "mo hotter mo better" bikers who lived by the idea that "I can do anything hotter that you can..." I bough a bunch of nice jalapeno peppers, cut them in half, seeded them and put dip in about half of them and left the other half naked. About half an hour after I started to cut, my hands started to burn; I tried EVERYTHING, soap, water, beer, wine, milk, (deep dark secret: I even peed on them!) No help! I burned my hands so badly eith those suckers that I blistered and peeled! Sheesh!