[NOTE: this post, describing an accident involving jalapeno peppers, has attracted a huge number of comments. See below. And please add your own thoughts as we seek a cure for this strange affliction!]
I received the following email from a good friend who I’ll call CD. He lives in the Washington, DC area. He sends along this cautionary tale about a cooking experience gone horribly wrong. His story is by turns frightening and hilarious. Enjoy.
Dude, I got a great story for you that I’ll try to relay in this message. Friday night S and I went over to J and C’s. I was going to help C prepare for a catering gig he had on Saturday. So we get there and start boozing and hanging out. We eat dinner and then begin the process of prepping for the catering gig.
Well, one step in the catering cooking process was to roast a 5-pound bag of jalapeno peppers on the grill and then remove the skins and de-seed them. Like what you’d do with a roasted red pepper. Well, at about 10:30pm I belly up to the table outside with all the peppers and start going to town. An hour later, I had peeled all 5 pounds worth….the catch is that I did it with no gloves.
At about mid-night S and I leave and I start complaining that my hands are burning. Not terribly, but a bit of fire. An hour later, we are back at S’s and it really sets in. Pain like I have never felt. Unbelievable, extreme, terrible, super harsh burning pain in both hands and even a little ways up both arms. It was like I had burnt both hands in a fire.
Now, I have to set the time frame so you can get the full affect of how long this pain lasted….it was at about 1am Saturday morning when I really began to realize i was in some trouble. At about 2:30am I woke S up and said I needed help (she had been asleep for about an hour). She got on the Internet and looked up how to stop jalapeno burn. She called two emergency rooms and even a number of “ask the nurse” hotlines. Nothing. At about 3:30am I was in so much pain i was rolling around on the floor almost yelling. By that time I had dipped both hands in milk, olive oil, vegetable oil, yogurt, oatmeal, water with baking soda, a bleach water mix, aloe and even mineral oil. Nothing helped.
At one point, I had both hands covered in aloe, a wet wash cloth on each and my hands in two huge bags that were filled with ice and water. That did not even help. at about 5am S calls my doctor at his emergency number. He says to get in the car and go to the emergency rooms at GW. So, we get in the car and I ride with my hands out the window to let the wind somewhat cool them down.
I check in with the front desk and am taken back to some ER room at about 6am. Now, realize that I am SO embarrassed at this point. Everyone in there is looking at me like I am a freak. They even wrote on the ER board where they identify what is ailing a patient “CD, jalapeno hands.” It was funny as hell.
Once I am in my little holding room they give me a shot a morphine, which by the way does nothing to ease the pain. Damn good high, but nothing for the pain. After the morphine they give me a shot of something stronger which also does nothing for the pain. I even got a shot of straight benedryl because they thought I might be having an allergic reaction. Needless to say, nothing works for the pain. They debated admitting me at one point. They also talked about putting me on some IV of pain killers.
Finally, after being there for about 3 hours, they tell me to go home and basically just wait out the pain. They did give me a prescription for some really strong pain killers.
Well, to get to the end….the pain finally lessoned to where I could take it on Saturday night at about 6pm. I was basically in a living hell for like 18 hours. Even today (Monday morning) I still feel a burning in both hands. If I scratch any part of my body, it immediately starts to burn. I can just bump into something and even that little bit of contact sets off a slight burn. And get this, my feet have this low grade burn from walking on them. That’s how much of the jalapeno oil got into my body.
148 Comments
Wow, Azadeh — what a story! Glad the burning finally went away, though…
i have that right now. i am holding an ice pack on my hands and typing at the same time. it hurts so bad! idont know what to do…do you recommend anything? please!!!!! *ow
I’m affraid, Brittney, that only time appears to heal the dreaded jalpeno hands — I think you just have to wait it out. Good luck. I’m sure it’s no walk in the park!
well, i am herelooking also, just made taco’s, pulled out the seeds and went to the bathroom!!!!!!! guess where my buring is!!!
I seriously recomend using gloves if you wear contact lenses. You do not want to be in that kind of pain, having burning hands is one thing, have burning eyeballs is another. I learned this the hard way. I took out my lenses in the evening a few hours after handling jalapeno peppers, assuming that since my hands weren’t burning that I was fine. However the moment that my finger touched my lense there was this intense burning. I also tried to put my lens in the next day thinking an over night soak would be enough, alas it was not, as again I was in excruciating pain. I left my contact to soak for a month. So to all those contact lense wearers….use gloves or wear you glasses during and for a few days after handling jalapenos!
Wow, Blyss — I wear contacts and can only imagine the pain. Thanks for the words of warning.
This is the worst pain I have ever been in. WHATEVER you do, do NOT beleive the vegetable oil myth. That was obviously somebody’s idea of a bad joke. There is NO answer to this. I just want to go to sleep. These people at my party better LOVE these damn jalapeno poppers.
I just had the same horrible reaction only with fresh jalapeno’s I was cutting up for making hot pepper jelly. I really only cut into and seeded (with my bare hands) about 5 jalapeno’s total for the recipe. The burning I felt lasted all through the night and created numbness in my right hand all the way up to my shoulder. It has finally subsided. In the middle of the night I got up and ran cold water over my hand again and scrubbed it with lemon juice. It did not stop the pain immediately - but a short time later it did. Not sure if the lemon did anything or not - but I will NEVER again touch a raw hot pepper of any kind. Wow what an eye opener!
All I did was mince 4 jalapenos so I could have fresh salsa at my party! That was at 6pm. It’s now 11 and everyone just left. Everyone had advise to give: milk, bleach, gojo hand cleaner. None of that worked. I am in agony. Stephanie I’m heading to the kitchen right now to try the lemon juice!
ok, so me being a really nice person, cut and seeded about 2 dozen jalapenos and stuffed them with string cheese, wrapped each in about 1/3 slice of bacon, stabbed with a toothpick and threw on the grill, they turned out great, everyone loved them, but as we started to eat them, the captian on my boat asked me if i used gloves, and i said no, that i had worked with green chillis in New Mexico in the past and have never had a problem, well sure enough, 2 hrs later the burning started, and it has now been about 24 hrs and they are still burning. I’ve tried soap, aloe, dish soap, limes (i didnt have lemons) bleach water, Mr.Clean, running water, more aloe, sun screen (spf 45), shampoo, and conditioner. Nothing has seemed to work, but i am going to try some alcohol based hand sanitizer as a last resort, i know it can disolve Sharpie Marker Ink from most plastics. I hope someone eventually finds something that will help. I know i will keep making poppers, cause they are really good, but i will start wearing gloves from now on.
ok, so the hand sanitizer seems to be helping, they still burn, but not as much as they did before i used it. A friend of mine also suggested using Rubbing Alcohol.
So I tried something new last night - mango salsa with freshly minced jalapenos. It turned out great . . . . but at a price! I didn’t realize how much my hands would burn! I couldn’t touch anything without feeling any pain. I tried soaking my hands in milk. Nothing! The excrutiating pain lasted since 2 p.m. yesterday afternoon until 9 a.m. this morning. Now, the pain’s subsided a little bit. I still feel like my fingernails and fingertips are radiating heat. Had I known my contact lenses would be affected, I would’ve had my husband take them out for me. I so wanted to rip my eyeball out this morning!
I was just up this evening trying to cure my burning “jalepeno hands”! It hurts like hell, but it’s funny that so many people found your blog when they googled trying to find help! I just actually rubbed my hands down with pepto-bismol and have actually found some relief. Not completely gone, but definately eased. Hope that helps other gomers like myself who prepared Jalepenos with no gloves. . .
Ok I’m not very encouraged to see that no one has a remedy for this BURNING!!! My hands are ok, probably because they are used to harsh chemicals and such but my eye and my nostrils ARE ON FIRE!! I washed my hands several times after cutting up my jalapeno’s for pico but it didn’t seem to help. I was actually mad at my wife for buying foo foo soap. I thought if I only had real soap this wouldn’t have happened. After reading the stories I think I owe my wife an apology. I tried sugar in the nostrils because ice cubes wouldn’t fit and I remember seeing contestants at a hot sauce contest emptying packets of sugar into their mouth to kill the burn. That was a bit messy and didn’t really help. I’m just waiting it out with wet tissue stuffed in my nose. Oh and thanks to Mayoclinic.com for a quick reference to wearing gloves and a chili recipie. Big help!!
UPDATE: reader Kimberly writes:
“After having the same problem, I found if you rub your hands on a stainless steel bar, sink, bowl… anything the pain goes away immediately. I would love for someone to be able to find this remedy before they go through the hours of pain like I did.”
I made salsa this morning and chopped and removed seeds from 12 jalapeno peppers. My hands were burnimg so badly I could hardly stand it. I tried acrtone, vinegar, alcohol, milk, soda and all helped for a few minutes,but did not cure my problem. I tried Caladryal lotion and got instant relief! It has been three hours and I am still free of pain. I thought this might help someone else!
I learned a lesson. I cut up 25 jalapenos w/o gloves on last night and my hands are killing me now. I’ve tried everything–rubbing alcohol, milk, tomato juice, all types of soaps and cleaners, grapefruit and lemons and nothing is working.. this really sucks. Does anyone have any cures? Is there a cure? hindsight is 20/20 and I won’t be doing this again.
Steve,
Thx for the hand sanitizer suggestion. I cut and cleaned 2 doz jalapenos this afternoon at 1pm to stuff with feta cheese and bbq on the grill (try it, btw…they are GREAT! The feta cuts the burn when you eat them). I did not feel a burn earlier today cos i thought I was smart to wash my hands throughout…but I just happened to remove my contacts! OUCH! Never again will I try that the same day! after grabbing saline and dousing my eye (it is okay now)…my hands started to burn. Dont know why it just started..anyway ran across a site that said Rubbing Alchohol was best to cut the “capsacin oil”. I did not have any and kept searching until I read your entry and found that I DID have hand sanitizer!
Thanks! It worked wonders (dousing my hands…not just the single press of the pump … 10 presses worth got the sting out.).
Guess it is glasses for the next couple of days until my eye heals!
OMG, I cut 2 jalapenos up tonight for spaghetti(in attempt to make spaghetti half as good as my father’s) and my hands have been burning ever since. I tried everything, milk, oil, noxema, shampoo, dawn, liquid antacid… nothing work. Went to the Pharmacy and asked them what they thought… he laughed at me. Just used the hand sanitizer. This is the best fix yet. Not completely normal, but cut the burn greatly!
I recently found a cure (the hard way) for jalapeno hands: Calamine Lotion. It’s a drying lotion intended for poison ivy or mosquito bites, but it also worked on my burning hands. It took the sting out right away. NONE of the other remedies I found on the internet worked, but the Calamine did.
Here’s my original post about it: http://yaktalk.blogspot.com/2007/08/jalapeno-hands-something-that-actually.html
Try it….trust me, you’ll have immediate relief.
I went through the “jalapeno hands” torment two nights ago. I tried calamine lotion and it didn’t work for me at all. Maybe everyone reacts differently to different solutions, or maybe it only helps with mild burns. I also tried vinegar, milk, yogurt, bleach, soap, orange juice, coke, and vegetable oil - none of which helped. As long as I kept my hand submersed in cold milk, it was fine. But as soon as I took it out - the pain returned! The only thing that seems to work is time. Sadly, all I can suggest is remembering to wearing gloves when you handle jalapenos!
I cut up about 4 jalapenos, with gloves, and accidentally rubbed the oil all over my lips and nose. It was horrible. The minute I would take ice off of my lips, the pain would return. I tried yogurt and milk, but they didn’t help. The burning continued for another hour or so. I then tried pasting on baking soda, and continued to keep ice on it. It actually helped me a lot.
I am the latest victim of the jalapeno pepper. I cut cut up about 10 jalopenos for salsa. All was fine, and then the burning pain hit. I came on the internet to look for a remedy. I can totally relate to all of your stories. My left hand is on fire. I am trying hard not to touch any other part of me, especially my eyes! Now I am glad I was wearing glasses when I was chopping because a few times the juice squirted me right in the face. I tried the lime juice, yogart, caladryl, stainless steel, and the rubbing alcohol. The alcohol took the pain away for a few minutes, but now it is back! I am not looking forward to suffering with this pain for the next several hours…it really is a bad burn! I can’t believe there is nothing I can do to stop this! There should be a warning with these things!! Ice cold water feels good, but doesn’t make it go away! Lesson learned.
I finely “french cut” jalapenos to deep fry (Texas toothpicks). That was at 5:30 pm. My hands are burning so badly that I tried looking up help. I found this website and tried the hand sanitizer. It worked for the backs of my hands, but the palms are still burning. Going to try more. My thanks goes out to everyone who has had suggestions. And my pitty to all who are experiencing the pain of the jalapeno meanies.
This is NUTS! I thought I’d make some fresh salsa for lunch and not only seeded and sliced the raw jalapeno not know what I was in for, I went ahead and used my hand to mix it up because we were at camp and I couldn’t find a suitable spoon. Yeah!!! That burns!
My husband of course has no sympathy thinking I’m being a wimp and just dismisses my complaining that my hand is on FIRE, not to mention when when I wiped my eye without thinking.
Well, isn’t this interesting. He wanted another batch to snack on tonight so I said fine, as long as he cut the pepper this time. He was fine ’till he wiped his hand across his face. So, now his face is on fire and he’s been running around the house for a half hour begging me to find something to make the burn stop. Apparently THIS is the worst pain ever felt according to him.
He finally tried putting baby powder on let it set, wash it off and reapply it every couple minutes. It seems to have dried up the oil and eased the burn.
I, too, got the jalapeno hands. I wore gloves to clean 1lb of the little devils while making chow-chow. As I pushed them through the grinder the juice coated every nook and cranny of my hands. Now I am in misery.
The pear chow-chow turned out delish but the pain is not worth it. Will try to calamine lotion as I do not have hand sanitizer around the house.
BEWARE ALL!
This is a really, truly painful experience. I am holding/drinking a cold beer which feels better, but is hardly a cure.
I made the mistake once of eating a hot sauce called ‘endorphine rush’ that made burn mark literally under my nostrils. I was breathing fire!
The ‘rush’ attained was not worth having a numb mouth for three days…
Hola from Acapulco. living in Acapulco has opened a new world of culinary facination for me. i have fallen victim to Jalepeno hands a few times now. Nothing major until today. Today I cut up one jalepeno and added it to some mango salsa I was making. It was especially hot on my hands and caused great lament. I read a post above that mentions rubbing your hands on stainless steel appliances. i have a stainless counter top and rubbed my hands on it for about 30 seconds and immediately began to feel relief. Upon 30-45 seconds completion time I quit rubbing them on the counter. The relief was rapid there after and was measurable. So now that i feel so much better I think I will continue to enjoy this icey cold Vodka Tonic with limes picked from the tree outside my door. If you ever move to Mexico i highly recommend getting a place with a mature lime tree. Trust me, you will need them. Oh, and limes do nothing but cause Jalepeno hands to be worse. They do however go well with Corona. We are getting alot of rain down here, I love it. Acapulco is sexy in the rain.
Cheers Bebe..
I tried everything for my lip and nostrils burning from the jalapeno I cut at 8am. I decided to go ahead a take a shower. The hot water did hurt. Afterwards I used my Neutrogena Clear Pore oil-eliminating astringent on it and the pain and heat went away. However, I did get a hot spot on the back of my hand and it has not completely stop it. Hope this helps.
I just had the worst experience cleaning jalepenos….I stopped, rinsed my hands in water to blow my nose. I ended up with my nose, lips, cheeks and under my eyes on fire! I tried everything I could think of and nothing was working. I called my sister and both of us were looking everywhere on the internet for a solution before I went to the hospital. Well, we found a solution! I covered the burning area with honey and almost instantly the burning stopped. Truly amazing.
I found the cure for “Jalepeno Hand”!
Don’t mess with the lemon juice, bleach, etc. Now I know this may seem counter intuitive, but I was on a garden web site forum (http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pepper/msg081330274973.html) and they recommended running your hand under hot water. The Capsacin oil breaks down and comes off the skin. My hand, fingers and cuticle areas were all burning. I ran my hand under hot water (not steaming hot) but warm hot.It was painful, but I did it 5 times in 5 second intervals using soap. After that my thumb which was the worst still hurt some, but the rest of the pain was gone soon after drying my hands.
So we tried hand sanitizer, milk, butter, vitamin E oil, tanning oil, washing with soap, ice water, frozen towel, rubbing stainless steel, and ranch dressing. Hand sanitizer BURNED!!!! Milk, ice water, frozen towel all felt good until I removed my hand from them. Ranch dressing not advised… stainless steel… NOT. Its so bad my husband is typing for me as we try to find something to help. It has been about 6 hours and still hurts as bad as in the beginning. I guess it looks like the only option is waiting it out.
I cannot believe how many of us there are! I must say I am probably one of the biggest fools here. I was watching a Paula Deen show the other day and she warned everyone to wear gloves when cutting jalapenos. My husband says “What a baby she is. Jalapeno’s aren’t even that hot.” I shake my head in agreement. That Paula Deen sure is a baby. So tonight I am making Baja Beans for dinner. Only 1 Jalapeno (I am so lucky). Yum tastes great. But then my hands start burning. Paula’s show starts playing over and over in my head…oh crap! She is not a baby she is an intelligent woman. So here I am like everyone else trying to find a remedy. So far the rubbing on stainless works the best for me. Weird. Good Luck everyone. Embrace the pain.Oh and next time let’s wear gloves
I know this is at the bottom, but the suggestions above didn’t help as much as bakingsoda in water did for me.
Maybe tomarrow I shall have relief. This is horrible. Calagel (for poison oak) helps a little, for a minute!
Me again! I just found another site. Tecnu, a wash for poison oak, ivy and sumac, this really works. All the others from above helped for a second. This actually took the burning away!! Try it!!
We grow Jalapenos for a variety of uses including cream cheese poppers. We have found through trial and mostly error nothing works better than gloves and even then sometimes the oil gets through. If you process these little firecrackers do it outside and spred the wash water along fences or decks as a critters repellant. Usually, the water is what starts the heat process so wash and dry them after all peppers are deseeded. Another tip is to throw the wash clothes and hand towels into the laundry after use as others may get some on them from the towels. I learned this after my entire face and eyes began to burn the next day when I wiped my face with a towel I had dried my hands on the day before and had been using gloves.
Wow, I cut a jalepeno once and didn’t have any problems. Tonight I cut up one for dinner and all hell has broken loose. The fumes started burning mine and my husbands lungs. I had a runny nose, so I washed my hands and blew my nose. I ended up with burning hands, nose, and mouth. My husband and I took a benadryll and that seems to have helped the lungs. Also, the dinner was a chicken soup, and the chicken broth seems to have helped my lungs and my nose as well. Nothing was working for my hands until I tried the hand sanatizer. Thanks for that suggestion. Now I have learned that my apartment is too small and too poorly ventelated to cook with jalepenos again.
Thank God for all you boneheads who, like me, had that “Doh!” moment when the pain kept getting worse and worse…
Tonight I minced 4 jalapenos to make homemade salsa for a friend’s going away party. No gloves. Didn’t burn at first. Slowly discovered, much to my horror, that this wasn’t a ‘brief discomfort’ that would ‘go away in a minute or two…’
In my middle-of-the-night attempt to find a home remedy, Google brought me to your site (top of the results list for “jalapeno burn,” I might add!) The rubbing alcohol worked. Not completely gone, but I’ll probably be able to get some sleep tonight.
I’m just darn glad I took my contacts out and went to the bathroom before I started cooking!
Thanks to all of you who posted remedies — one of which is actually working for me! My husband is a pharmacist, and I’m going to make SURE he knows what to tell folks if he’s ever asked what to do about jalapeno hands…!
After several hours of excrutiating pain, a call to poison control, and absolutely no relief, despite having tried every suggestion on this page, my husband came up with a BRILLIANT suggestion that worked instantly. He had me coat my throbbing hands with Benzoyl Peroxide - like the stuff you find in Oxy or other acne drying medicines. I left the stuff on my hands for about 5 minutes, and it dried up all of that pesky pepper oil - INSTANT RELIEF. I did one more precautionary treatment, rinsed, went to bed, and awoke pain-free.
I hope this works for everyone as well as it worked for me!!!
I just cut up 4 of the hottest japelanos and suffering fro all that is mentioed above. I tried the hand saitizer, it works for a few minutes and burns again. I tried vineger, no good. I am ow in the process of soakig my hand i a mixture of baking soda and water. Alternated with baking soda poured directly on the hand. It does bring relief
Tonight my roommate and I made two batches of and super spicy jalapeño poppers and the burning set in about an hour ago, especially on my right index finger and thumb. After trying dish-soap, alcohol, vinegar, hand sanitizer, stainless steel and left over cream-cheese from the poppers, I remembered when my brother got stung by a jellyfish in Australia…. Okay, this might sound a little bit crazy, but I was desperate and the pain was only getting worse; if your hands are burning as bad as mine were two hours ago I’m sure you will understand what I did next.
I peed on my hands. Yes thats right, pee.
Initially, the heat from the urine increased the burning. I left the pee on my hands for about 1 minute until I couldn’t take it anymore and I rinsed them about 5 times. The burning COMPLETELY stopped in less than 5 minutes. I know it sounds gross but if you are in pain and nothing is working, just try it.
Tomatoes, the acid in tomatoes counter acts and gets rid of the sting! Fresh tomatoes or canned or even tomato juice.
Chalk me up as another victom. Only one jalepeno for my pre-game chili & I rubbed the inside of my nose. Lesson learned. Don’t pick your nose after cutting up jalepeno peppers!
You need to get the plant oils off of your fingers. The best way to do this is the same way you’d get poison ivy oil off your fingers: with Technu or Burts Bees Poison Ivy Soap. I’m really surprised the hospital didn’t think of that. It could’ve saved you a lot of pain.
I made those jalepeno poppers for the first time , 35 peppers, and I did not use gloves because I cut up one or two lots of time for salsa with no problem. Anyway, it started making my hands burn while I was making them, but I had to finish to go to my Baptist church for the ladies night fellowship. That was 6 hours ago I started, and it has been terrible. 20 ladies were giving me suggestions, also about half said they were too hot to eat,even though I removed all the seed with my fingers. I was telling them this feels like I just burned them in the oven and it won’t stop. Man, it really hurts. I drove home and it seemed better so I decided to wash the dishes and carefully with a knife get all the seeds into the trash, anyway, not a good idea, now my hands are burning again. I’m so glad I repented and trusted in Christ to save me from hell, because I wouldn’t want anyone to experience this, and I know hell (far worse) is imcomprehendibly hot, seperated forever from the only one who can save you, I kept telling the ladies at church that having my hands on fire makes me want to warn everyone that they do not want to go to hell. So I’m thankful for all the suggestions, tried hand sanitizer, aloe gel, still burning but I will go see what else I can find. I’m really glad the Lord saved me from hell, but I’m even more glad that my sin, that was going to put me there, was done away with because of Jesus thought I was worth it, and He willingly went to the cross for me. ( and you too) I’ve known him since I was eleven and I’d have to say; he really did come to give me life, and life more abundantly John 10:10. My hand are still burning, but I feel better now, when I think about how much he loves me. He is truly God.
Jalapeno poppers got me. My hands were also burning. I read through the stories of all that have come before me after i had tried washing my hands in warm/cold water with no relief. I rubbed some Benadryl cream on my hands and read some more ideas on this page. I have to say, I tried the HOT water with soap idea. I filled the sink with soap and HOT water, and put my hands in it for 5-10 seconds at a time and then took them out rubbing the soap in. I did this about 10 times. After drying my hands the burning is completely gone! Thanks for the advice!
….now lets see if my eyes burn when i take my contacts out later…
The contacts thing really, really, really sucks. I have worked in kitchens my entire life, and have cut numerous amounts of jalapenos; but, last night has started a new chapter in my life. I have never felt such a sensation on my hands or even in my eyes when attempting to put in my contacts.
My heart goes out to you 5 pound jalapeno-ers! I only chopped a half of an jalapeno and my hands were ON FIRE! The only reason I can sleep tonight is because of the advice received here. Before reading these ideas I tried soap, gojo, baking soda, burts bees hand salve, and aloe more than once. stainless steel didnt work for me but hand sanitizer did after many layers. I went out to buy latex gloves to use when I take out my contacts later. Thank you to all the fellow jalapeno handers out there, I’m so glad to know that I am not alone!
My girlfriend made me some chili tonight and decided that some jalapeños would be a good idea. They were! It was awesome. She’s great. However… She used one whole jalapeño. Shortly after her left hand had a very unpleasant burning sensation. Long story short, it was like everyone else’s burning sensation (only in the hand though).
We tried vinegar, vegetable oil, olive oil, ice, and FINALLY the hand sanitizer. The hand sanitizer took the burning from the “I-wish-I-was-dead” level to a “Oh-that’s-unpleasant-and-I-wish-it-wasn’t-happening-but-at-least-I-can-stand-the-pain” level. So out of all of the suggestions and what-not, go for the hand sanitizer. It helps!
Ok, another jalapeno chopping idiot here, looking for relief. I was ok until I got my hands wet 2 hours later, now, owie. This was my first time chopping the little buggers, never, EVER again. I thought wearing gloves was a bit overly cautious, and mainly to protect your eyes if you accidentally swiped them later, I didn’t know the damn things just BURNED. I have tried so far: lime juice, alcahol, hot water washing, and calamine. The calamine made it worse! It seems just getting them wet is what’s activating it. Every remedy feels good for a few seconds, especially alcohol. In desperation, I dunked my fingers in a tub of margarine, it felt sublime! But didn’t last (probably because I washed it off). I guess I am stuck wearing my contacts all night, and I wonder, is everything I’ve touched cursed with this horrendous oil??
owwww
Here I am, thinking I am the biggest idiot alive but it looks like I have company. stupid stupid stupid.
“wear gloves” she said. Now I get to hear “I told you” so all Sunday long.
Oh and more good advise, Let her hold it for you when you take a leak. Now I am sitting at the computer try to find out what else to wash myself with. Okay. SHE WAS RIGHT! I will never tell her but I will mention it to you other wives on this forum.
Technu worked great. Definately worth the money! If you are looking at this post and suffering, find a 24 hour walgreens in your area and make the trip. Made my day much better!
Oww it burns!!! Who would have thought such small peppers could cause such pain. Yesterday, I cut up two jalapeños w/o gloves and wouldn’t you know - I started to experience a burning under my nails 2 hours later. The pain has lasted through today. I just tried soaking my fingertips in straight bleach hoping that will work. I think I will try some of the tips you all have left. Next time, I’ll be sure to wear gloves. I didn’t realize jalapeños caused burns. Man, I’ve cut the peppers before and did not have this problem. Gosh, how stupid.
Good lord! I, like the many others here, have found this through a google search. Hand sanitizer, I shall tackle you and make you work for my burning.
So, good story. As we ate our dinner last night, complete with jalepeños, we shared some stories of past “‘peño hands” experiences. My friend, a lesbian, shared a humorous story regarding a delicious dinner followed by some not-so-delicious post-grub sex. Laughing at the pain, with her—not against, I headed to the head to #1. Wouldn’t you know it, I got my karma.
Maybe we should do some AdCouncil awareness or public-info website regarding “los manos de ‘peños.”
Caladryl lotion. It’s amazing. It totally makes all feel better!!!!
Feces and urine are the key to helping jalepeno burns. It cured my hands almost instantly after I ran into my backyard and picked up some dog poop and rubbed it all over my hands. Right afterwards I rinsed it out with some pee. Sure, it’s not completely sanitary, but it stopped the burn.
Try azule oil. My hands were burning horribly last night after cutting up some jalapenos. I have a very low pain tolerance and I tried many things listed above to ease the pain. I finally remembered this wonderful oil I used after I wax my legs in the summer. The azule oil comes with the Sally Hansen wax from Walgreens. It soothes the burn insantly and about ten minutes later the burn was gone completely. You can also buy the oil from day spas however it is much cheaper from Walgreens.
add me to the list…the baby powder worked well for me, which makes sense since powder soaks up liquids, water, and so on…it hasn’t stopped burning completely but it’s a lot more tolerable. I also tried using different cremes for eczema and even an antifungal lotion which also seemed to take the edge off. it’s under my nails that’s the most painful. I didn’t even try the lemons and didn’t have any caladryl lotion so….good luck
I made a bunch of jalapeno poppers for a snack before T-Day dinner, and they were great, however, as with the rest of the people in the comments table, my hands are on fire.. These things should come with warnings and have gloves available at the pepper stand in the market. I am extremely tolerant of pain, so its only a minor distraction to me, but I figured I would check if there was some easy remedy and came across this blog.. I almost fell out of my chair lauging at how many comments you had with the same thing!
Hey guys, my wife did the same as you all….She tried everything from milk to alcohol and nothing worked…but rubbing your hand across stainless steel immediately got rid of the pain and burn. We just used a stainless steel coffee mug
Hahaha. that story is gold.
Honey worked the best for me. Thanks for the tip. I have an apartment devoid of anything remotely medical or hand sanitizerish, and I can’t leave to the pharmacy because the chili is still cooking. I tried lemon, baking soda, and even poured cheap tequila over my face, because it was the closest thing I have to rubbing alcohol. I had resorted to drowning myself in a bowl of milk to aleviate the pain (my nose and lips were affected), but the honey has finally worked. Now I just have a slight hotspot in my ear, where I apparently stuck my finger while cooking (I know, not very hygenic!). However, I am rather hesitant to spread honey in my ear, so I think I’ll wait out that comparitively small nuisance. Good luck to everyone.
As with almost everyone else here, I’ve chopped jalapenos before; thought, “I don’t need no steenkeen’ gloves!”; and have come to this site in search of a cure for the pain that won’t go away. I endured 4 hours of burning with intermittent relief (for seconds or minutes depending on the remedy I tried) then finally gave in to the ‘final resort’: Using medications. I reasoned that the pain itself involves neuropathic, or nerve pain and also may involve the histamines, or allergic reactions. I took the meds prescibed for my restless leg syndrome (gabapentin/Neurontin) and diphenhydramine/Benadryl; put Benedryl gel on my hands then puttered around the house until I got sleepy. I still needed to put Benedryl gel at my bedside, coating my hands at various intervals, but basically slept for 8 hours and awakened pain-free.
Bless you all! You provided remedies and fellowship and a lot of ideas for jalapeno recipes. Remember to DOUBLE GLOVE (wear 2 pair of latex or plastic gloves) and WARN YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT ‘JALAPENO HANDS’!
I don’t feel so stupid then. I got the oil in my EYES!!! I literally couldn’t breathe for maybe 5 minutes but just continually flushing my face with cold water and keeping a cold washcloth on it helped. That was about an hour and half ago that I did this and my fingers are still tingling. It’s not that bad. It’s bearable. But I can totally sympathise with the pain. It felt like someone poured hot oil in my face. I can understand now why they use peppers for spray..lol.
How about Calamine lotion? I know it worked for me for a sunburn so maybe it will help for pepper hands and in my case, peper face..lol.
I tried the Calamine lotion. Initial relief and then burn again. I tried alcohol and the stainless steel. Hand sanitizer too. The only thing giving me relief unfortunately is an ice pack. I’ll go try the baby powder and if that doesn’t do anything, I’ll stick with my ice pack. For sure I’ll have on gloves the next time.
Just tried the following with some success (pain free for half an hour now): wet hands with cold water, coat with baking soda and wash clean with milk. Apply more baking soda.
My turn to suffer…..nothing is working for me. The baking soda does ease it a bit, but only for a few minutes. I have tried the hand sanitizer, alcohol, honey…everything except Calamine lotion which I don’t have. Best advise I have is grab a cold beer, hold it where it hurts, then drink it and start over! I’m on my third one and it’s definitely getting more tolerable!
Ok, my turn I only sliced 6 jalapenos they were tho ones in the can not raw and my fingers were burning as if they were on fire!! I sliced a lemon soaked them and relized I had the Neutagena face sope so I used that as well … pain is gone … !
try mustard. it seemed to work for me…
This happened to me and I thought I was going to call 911. My husband said to check the net and here I am. I scrubbed my hands with a washcloth and soap then applied solarcaine aloe (for sunburns) then I mixed water with baking soda and it is relieving the pain enough to be tolerable. What a way to start Christmas Eve.
Okay, I cleaned and deep fried 35-40 crab stuffed jalepenos around 2:00 pm. My hands were on fire within and hour…I tried lemon juice…didn’t bother with the milk. I decided to try TOMATO PASTE not sauce. I have to say I was surprised, it actually took alot of the sting away almost immediately. I of course used half of the 6 oz can. I just rubbed in like any hand lotion, then rinsed and repeated several times. It worked for me. Hope this helps someone who makes this mistake.
Another success story with the hand sanitizer. It worked immediately (after trying baking soda, milk, limes, and hot water). I’m hosting a New Year’s Eve party tonight and was terrified that I’d have to walk around with an ice pac on my hand.
Do NOT!!!! do limes/lime juice. It made the burning so much worse and more widespread.
So yea. Hand Sanitizer. Best of luck everyone!
So, here I am on a wonderful ski vacation in Steamboat Springs, I decide to bake jalapenos with the cream cheese and bacon etc. and get a case of jalapeno hands ! I tried everything just like everybody else on this blog and finally got to hand sanitizer. So far it’s the winner. I’ve been outside in a blizzard off and on all day with my hands in the snow just to be able to stand the pain! Forget pain killers, you can’t take enough to get you out of your misery unless you OD on morphine. Try the sanitizer..I’ve been pain free for an hour now.
I had the exact same thing happen to me yesterday. I had never felt burning like that before and the only relief was from keeping them under water or with ice in my hands. i could not touch anything remotely warm because the burning would increase, not even my own face. It burned to go outside because it was so hot out there that the air killed (live in Australia). I went to a pharmacy was was told to rub milk or olive oil on them. I did that but they burned even more from the rubbing. So I called a different pharcamy and was told that the best thing would be to put them in warm water. I had to let the burning continue if I was going to get over it, the faster it burned, the faster I would feel better. Can’t say I was crazy to hear that news, but it worked. For about an hour I didn’t put anything on my hands, they burned like mad, but it finally stopped too. Hope this helps someone….
Wanda
Many years ago, I worked as a waiter as a popular Tex Mex restaurant. One day when the poor kid who was chopping jalapenos for nachos came out of the washroom in tears because he, well I guess you can figure out what happened - and that was just with the pickled ones. I’ve told the story many times, and boy do I feel bad now that I have a bit of an idea of what he must have been going through. Here I am on holidays in Mexico and I decided to buy some fresh jalapenos to put in my fajitas. I diced one very finely without taking any precations. Afterwards, I carefully wahsed my hands twice. Midway through dinner, I noticed a slight tingling on my hands. It gradually got worse and worse (particuarly around my fingernails), but from what I have read here, I think I got off pretty lightly. I thank God (literally) that I did not have my contacts in and that I did not have to go to the washroom. I am also grateful for the suggestions that have been provided here. From the other responses, it seems that the top three remedies are #1 hand sanitizer, #2 stainless steel, with calamine lotion as a distant #3. Astringent also looked interesting because it is used to cut oil. I had already tried milk, because I thought it would possibly neutralize the acidic oil. It gave temporary relief, as did ice water. I decided to try a few of the remedies listed here to see what worked best. I tried hand sanitizer on one hand and astringent on the other. Both offered partial relief. Then I decided to try the stainless steel on one hand (even though this remedy seemed to make the least sense). To my amazement, it worked! Then I tried the hand sanitizer again on the other hand. That also cleared it up. I’m sitting here 15 minutes later completely free of pain. That being said, I am going to wear my glasses instead of contacts again tomorrow - just in case. Hopefully others who are in pain can find this site! In the future, I will think twice before laughing at the misfortune of others - after all, we reap what we sow! (Galatians 6:7)
i had this same problem after slicing about 1 pound of jalapenos, the pain lasted well into this morning. as i was getting ready, doing my hair i had to use hairspray because i was out of my pomade. so i guarded my eyes from the spray with my left hand, then went to find my belt. as i put my belt on i relized my left thumb which had been in excruciating pain no longer hurt. so out of curiosity i sprayed my right hand with the same hairspray (”proffessional” hairspray aerosol it’s what was on sale at wal-mart at the time). it’s now been 11 hours since i sprayed and have washed my hand numerous times and no burn to be mentioned
Ihave tried all of the aforementioned suggestions and nothing has worked!
Help!
Soaking in astringent worked great. I only chopped one of those little boogers and it got under my fingernails - talk about some serious pain!! I can’t imagine how much worse it was for some of you, those are some crazy stories! Thanks for sharing and best of luck finding relief!
I have now joined the Jalapeno Hand of fame email with all of you!
I actually feel better reading all your stories…..thanks for the laughs…I feel better knowing I’m not the only one out there!
Hands still burning………..
This blog entry was a godsend, as I just happened to be incredibly stupid and not use gloves while chopping up jalapenos for chili, but I believe I’ve found the perfect remedy - Lysol Food Surface Sanitizer! I didn’t have any calamine lotion, but I tried everything else we had, and I was dying of pain until I sprayed my hands with Lysol and waited 60 seconds, according to the directions. I’m pain-free!
I am so glad that you guys understand the pain of Jalapeno hands it isnt something that you can explain to anyone unless they have expirenced it. My husband says I am over reacting about the burning pain in both of my hands after deseeding 15 peppers with my hands. I did this 5 hrs ago and still burning.the best relief is cold water, but only when my hands are in it. I take them out and the burn is back and maybe worse. I would rather be giving birth.
okay, I am finally cured. After hours of pain I rubbed alcohol 70% like 3 times, Felt good then burned again then sour cream was the magic relief for me. I coated my hands in it twice. Oh, the joy I felt. I don’t know if it was because it was done like 6 hrs into the burning terror that made it work but who cares, I have total relief. I hope this helps someone else. The other things I tried were milk, vinegar, baking soda, stainless still, hand sanitizer(helped a little) alovera plant and gel, hot water (sucked bad)
Oh my God! thanks for the belly laughs! My left hand and eye have been burning since I made guacamole and chile for the superbowl yesterday. The burning made its way up my fingers and woke me from my sleep, but I’d say the pain has been worth it because it compelled me to find this page, and I can always benefit from a healthy dose of laughter! Thanks!
I hope everyone enjoyed the poppers at the super bowl party, but I’ve been 24 hours with intermittant pain. It seems that getting my hands wet continues to trigger the burning. Taking a shower this morning triggered at least an hour of pain, and doing the dishes tonight triggered it again, although washing my hands throughout the day after using the restroom didn’t seem to trigger any pain. The hand sanitizer helped marginally tonight, but there is still discomfort 15 minutes after a heavy dousing. Stay away from getting your hands wet for long periods of time even the day after you are exposed!
I had a similar problem last night, albeit not as severe as yours. My jalepeno hand was localized to just my left hand but when I put lip gloss on it caused me to have jalepeno lips. I also had a burning hand for the better part of the night - hence the reason I found your site. Fortunately ice soothed it somewhat. I only cleaned 2 peppers so I can imagine what it would have been like if I did all that you did. The odd thing is while I felt the reaction a bit all day it intensified at night.
Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. Keep the comments coming…
Alcohol…rubs hands together…repeat. This works!!!!
you lot are making the mistake of putting it on your hands.. drink lots of water. it wont stop it or anything but if you drink lots of water to flush it out of your system it’ll reduce the reaction time. it worked a treat for me last night and this night.
It has now been 24 hours since my jalepeno hands started. It is true, nothing really works. The only advice I have is try keeping your hands as cool as possible. My hands only burn if I get warm. I stayed outside in the cold today and had no problem until I got inside and started a fire. Now my hands are bathing in an ice bath. If I cool my body temp, it definatly gives some relief. It sure is an experience like no other. The pain is almost unberable. Good luck to all and remember WEAR GLOVES!
okay everyone i have the answer you are looking for - i hope for your sakes.
i didn’t burn my hands on jalapenos but on chili peppers so maybe it’s not the same, but after calling the emergency nurse for my insurance company and her suggestions did not work at all (can you believe it’s in a medical database somewhere to soak your hands in vegetable oil?) - i was visiting my mom, and was putting my hands in cold water (again) and so my mom called my uncle who’s a doctor in the middle of the night.
he didn’t know what to do but he said to call poison control.
the poison control lady told my mom she knew exactly the condition she was talking about and that even though it sounded really weird, to have me soak my hands in maalox or mylanta for 20 minutes. she said it does something to your nerve endings. my mom went out to buy the maalox.
by the time she was home, having soaked my hands in cold water for twenty minutes actually eased the pain and i thought it was fine. i went to bed and put my hands under the covers and they started to burn again!
so i poured out the entire bottle and soaked my hands for twenty minutes. the pain really was gone and this was days ago so it’s def not back. my hands did feel a little weird though for the next 24 hrs - she was right about the nerve endings - they just felt a teensy bit numb.
i had actually done this once before (i am the only one on here who has done this twice!) and rubbing alcohol totally did the trick, but it did nothing this time.
do the maalox, i’m telling you.
I chopped up a few jalapenos this morning. Went to the bathroom. Noticed a bit of a burning sensation in the nether regions. The burning increased to an unbearable level. Two hours later, I was sweating profusely and couldn’t stand the pain anymore. A friend recommended bananas. Peeled one, mashed the fruit into a balm and coated my junk. Within a few minutes, the burning and redness were gone. An effective treatment, and an interesting way to use a banana.
Contact lens wearers beware!!! I chopped one jalapeno w/o gloves and washed my hands right after. There was no sensation on my hands at all and I didn’t even think about it. I wasn’t wearing my contacts at this time and a couple hours later went to put them in… the second I put the first one in it was searing, my eyelid snapped shut and wouldn’t open. I was almost screaming and somehow managed to pry my eyelid open and get the lens off. After splashing with water the burning subsided, but my eye was blood red and watering for a good 15 minutes. I contaminated my lens and this was hours after contact with the pepper and washing! Later the same night after having scrubbed my hands with many products, I rubbed my nose and it started burning! Never without gloves again. Never.
Haha, I too found this site while searching for a jalapeño hands cure. I read most of the replies, and nothing helped.
Then I thought I should give some ammonia a shot, since its basic and may bind the oil. Put some Afterbite (which is just ammonia in a gel) on, and stupidly took a quick whiff of my hands to see if it was working. I instantly got a head full of jalapeño-scented burning, and my hands immediately stopped burning (for the most part, just a little under my nail now).
The sink thing did work. I just rubbed my hands on the sink and they do feel much better. I am going to do that every so often and hope it helps. Thanks!
i find myself laughing at all these stories as my hands, under my nails, and eyes continue to burn! victim #95
My Goodness! It’s funny and not so at the same time, to have found this blog and all of the experiences everyone has had with Jalapeno Hands.
Last night around 7pm I minced just 1 Jalapeno for some delicious salsa. I took a little nibble to test the hotness of the pepper and realized it was far too hot for my boyfriend. I then removed about 1/2 of the minced pepper with my bare hand and an hour later I felt like my fingers were on FIRE!
I soaked them in ice cold water and that felt good but when I took them out they still burned.
I tried coconut oil because I know that fat in milk, and chocolate helps to cool a burning tounge, it only got worse!
I tried rubbing alcohol, that felt good for a little while.
Then at 10:30pm right before bed, I used Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Soap because peppermint has a cooling effect, it felt good only while my hands were wet.
I also had some Peppermint Hand lotion from philosophy so I put that on right before I turned off the lights for the night.
I woke up this morning and My boyfirned asked it my hands were burning. I said no but after I took a shower 8:30am the burning sensation came back.
Now at 10:15 am I find comfort in knowing that I am not the only one who has had this experience. I know that only time will cool my Jalapeno Hands and eagerly approach the day in hopes of relief.
I will always remember this and vow never to handle this hazardous pepper without gloves again!
Wow, whoda thought so many people go through this! Yes I’m feeling the burn too - I made chili using Rotel tomatoes and green chilis. My husband can’t have seeds of any kind so I separated the seeds from the tomatoes and chilis under running water, never thinking about the fact that there’s CHILI PEPPERS in there! It really just tingled for awhile, but later after I cleaned up and washed dishes in hot soapy water my hands began to feel like they’re on fire! I’ve tried most of the remedies, everything works for a few seconds and then back to the burn - worst part is I’ve burned my hands with fresh jalapenos before so I should have known better!
Hand sanatizer is amazing … thanks to who ever suggested it!