Jalapeno Juice Will Burn Your Face Off | Anchors Aweigh

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Jalapeno Juice Will Burn Your Face Off

Okay, not really, but it sure felt like it. Let's back up. We don't do a lot of spicy foods at our house, so my experience cooking with jalapenos is limited. Parker requested jalapeno poppers, so I made up a recipe that didn't require the grill and began cooking. I thought jalapenos were like onions- you shouldn't touch your eyes and worse case scenario you might tear up, but it's not a big deal. Yeah, wrong.


 I started cutting and de-seeding the jalapenos. I touched my face a couple of times when I had an itch, and the jalapeno juice would occasionally squirt out at me when I was trying to get the last of the seeds out. My face was burning a bit, but I figured I would tough it out and it would go away. By the time I was done with the 8 jalapenos, I felt like my face was on fire.

I ran to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face and apply a little aloe vera, and the pain only intensified. I turned the shower on cold, stuck my face under it, and the pain only intensified. I tried ice, and the pain only intensified. I finally went to Parker out of desperation to see if he had any ideas, and he googled what to do. Google, what a revolutionary idea. Why didn't I think of that? He came back seconds later with Dawn dishwashing soap and said "try this and shampoo". After lathering shampoo and Dawn all over my face and applying ice cubes until I couldn't feel my fingers anymore, the pain finally subsided. I felt like I had a sunburn for the next hour or so, but it was nothing compared to how I felt initially.

I know this sounds silly, and I feel silly writing it because it was just a little jalapeno, but that little situation was no joke. Note for the future: jalapeno juice should stay far, far away from your face. Apparently I should wear gloves in the future. If you do make the same mistake I did, shampoo and ice cubes will be your best friend. I have this lovely photo courtesy of Parker, because while I was in pain, he found the whole thing amusing. He also figured out how to help me, so I guess I can't be too upset!



17 comments :

Charlotte Hayes said...

Ohmygosh! Sounds painful but I'm glad you're okay! (And have found humor in the situation)

<3, Charlotte

Unknown said...

Oh no! Yeah, jalapeƱo juice is a killer. Sorry you had such a run in with it last night :(

Karla said...

Wow! I love how you can laugh at this now. I had no idea that it could give you a sort of sun burn! I've never felt that heat quite like that (and have worked with jalapenos before) but I have heard some horror stories! Glad you are better!

Christiana Marie said...

Ouch!! I'm glad you figured out how to make the pain go away!! Peppers are no joke!

Tammy Jo said...

I worked at at meat market a couple years back and I had to make literally HUNDREDS of those things a day!!! My hands would burn even with gloves on and it never failed right as the burning would go away I'd have to make a few more hundred. Totally know the feeling the best way to do them is to cut the top off, slice them down the middle, take a spoon and dig the seeds out. Will save you HOURS of endless burning :)

Anonymous said...

Yikes! I'm glad you're okay. I would have been totally scared!

Katie said...

Oh my goodness! Ouch!! I just bought a jalapeƱo yesterday to use in my mango salsa... maybe hubby will cut it up for me? Cause now I'm scared! Glad you're okay, though!

Emily Stewart said...

I'm laughing at my desk. Alone. I look like a crazy person but I believe the last picture is the best part. Kudos to Parker for documenting the whole thing..what a good blogger husband!

Nikki @ Rural Rookie said...

I've so been there! Friends of ours gave us super-hot banana peppers last summer and after cutting them my hands were on fire! I ended up sitting with my hands in a bowl of milk for an about hour just to find relief. Good to know about dish soap and shampoo!

Ashley @ A Cute Angle said...

Oh, goodness! That looks like a bad sunburn. I'm glad you figured out how to stop the burning!

~Ashley @ A Cute Angle
http://acutelifestyle.blogspot.com

Ashley said...

Oh no! We love spicy -- so jalapenos are pretty common around our house ... but still, cleaning and deseeding them can be a total pain! I once rubbed the juice on my nose, trying to scratch and itch and my whole nose was burning for HOURS!

Janelle Cook said...

AHH, so glad you're better now! I had a recent situation that was similar to yours... We LOVE spicy foods, and we use jalapenos ALL THE TIME... but we must have had an extra spicy batch in June because I entire hands were on fire... like awful-worst-feeling-ever kind of fire! I tried all the things you listed and then turned to Google as well... Dan thought I was nuts, but he was up with me (this was just before bed, lol) pouring milk into a bowl for me to put my hands in... that didn't work. Finally, the only thing that did help some was lemon juice and baking soda mixed together... it was kind of sizzling, and I let my fingers just rest in the bowl... it helped enough for me to sleep, but my hands burned for about three days afterward! MISERABLE. We bought gloves for cutting jalapenos after that. :-P

Susannah said...

Oh my word! Jalepenos are no joke! I'm glad you were able to find a way of getting those juices off your face!

Kirst Semler said...

Who knew they could be so vicious!! I am glad your doing better!

Hilary said...

oh no! I touched my face once after slicing a Serrano pepper... it was a terrible terrible idea.

Beth said...

Hahaha Oh, Chelsea! This is awful, I'm so sorry! Those poppers better have been delicious, or at least Parker have better said they were. I love Jalepenos, use them all the time, and the juice still gets to me! I got a little in my eye one time and was desperately wishing I had one of those eye washing stations they have in Chemistry classrooms!

Anonymous said...

Had the same thing on my forehead. Found myself in the shower with extremely cold water pouring on my face. Soap and cold water, then a cloth soaked in milk. It felt like a gas fire burning on my face.

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