"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...
Does anyone know how to reduce the burn when working with hot peppers?
besides wearing gloves.
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1) Wear disposable plastic gloves (maybe two pairs) and take them off
carefully allowing them to turn inside-out, then toss them. Be careful
not
to touch sensitive parts of your (or anybody else's) body until you shed
the
gloves. Re-using gloves (eg rubber, leather) is just a way for the
irritant
to accumulate and end up on your body some time later.

2) If you get it on you (say your glove breaks) rub the affected part with
vegetable oil (or a good oily hand cream, even lard or margarine if you
are
desperate), scrub it over the skin with a scrubbing brush thoroughly, then
wash off with plenty of warm soap and water.

This works because the stuff that burns is fairly oil soluble but not very
water soluble. The reason it is so hard to get off is because it
dissolves
in the oil on your skin. This also explains why yoghurt cools a burning
mouth more than say cold water, the butterfat in the yoghurt dissolves the
irritant from the inside of your mouth and provides some relief.

David


All great tips. I'll just add that you should get any pepper oil off your
skin ASAP.

IME, after the pepper oil has been on my skin for a while, it seem to absorb
into the skin, and *nothing* will get it off. At that point, all I can do is
try to dull the pain and wait it out.

After an extremely painful experience with peppers a few years ago, I now
use disposable gloves whenever I handle peppers. As soon as I'm done I use
the oil/scrubbing approach on any skin that might have been exposed, just in
case.

Laura