the pain started two hours after I chopped and scraped the seeds out of what tasted like VERY mild jalapenos. I figured they were so mild, they wouldn’t burn.

I took a huge bite, it was sweet like a bell pepper. BETRAYAL

NO. no no no no no no no no no no no no no.

I worked with 3lbs of them, and that was more than enough.

all of the suggestions you will find online, only work if you catch the capsaicin oil BEFORE it starts burning! if it’s in the surface, just starting to hurt. if you catch it quickly, you can try

rub oil into your hands, deeply, and let it sit

wash with blue dawn dish soap or other grease cutting soap, in the hottest water you can stand

repeat at least 3 times

Me though? I didn’t start to treat this until hours later and by then it was too late for the home remedies. For washing. That oil was absorbed- under the skin, not on it. You can’t wash it off.

I tried every single thing online that I could find. Vinegar soak. Olive oil/hot water washing. Mustard. Baking soda. Maalox. Bleach cleaner. Milk. Alcohol. Yogurt. Stainless steel. Salt. Milk soak. Aloe. Lemon juice. A lemon. An onion. Butter. Crisco. Sugar.

After several dozen ridiculous attempts, I realized that it was too late to do that shit.

Icepack, pain relief. that’s it. once it’s been a few hours, that’s all you can do.

1. wash your hands as well as you can, cold water feels nice. oil-reducing soap is good I guess.

2. apply blue gel, lidocaine, or anbesol/orajel to the entire affected area. allow it to absorb.

3. once it’s dried, apply a thin layer of any beeswax based/oily salve to hold the lidocaine to the skin surface. this will increase the time it lasts.

4. take a damn pain pill. I took ibuprofen. I might go on up to a codeine pill if it goes back to the pain I was at earlier- easily an 8/10! right now it’s just tenderness, and a Tylenol or Ibuprofen is enough.

5. take an antihistamine. Benadryl is best, Claritin works. this keeps inflammation down a little- your skin won’t be so red and irritated.

6. do not touch your eyes, genitals, mouth. don’t touch other people’s sensitive bits. you have to wait until your hands have used the capsaicin up- according to a paper I read that can take up to 24 hours. so be cautious during this time.

7.you can put on nitrile gloves if you like. I found they made the lidocaine wear off faster (maybe due to the warmth)

8. avoid touching ANYTHING warm/hot, and ANYTHING with capsaicin in it (even a sweet bell pepper!) for a few days. your nerve endings need to heal, your body needs to process that capsaicin. give it time.

I must have put a hundred condiments and unguents and cleaning supplies on my hands tonight. I spent hours trying.

just treat the pain, don’t reexpose your hands to heat or the chemical that hurt you. and don’t touch your eyes!!! OR YOUR JUNK. I MEAN IT.