jalapenos and the dangers of cooking

[indigo_rose99]

My husband lives in fear of my slicing myself open or burning myself on hot things.  He thinks I am accident prone.  I do not argue with him, as I do seem to sacrifice more blood and skin to the cooking gods than seems ordinary.

Today I made mom's spaghetti sauce.  It involves a lot of chopping.  Onions, garlic, jalapenos, bell pepper....  My mother and father used to swear that to prevent the jalapenos from damaging your hands, you should cover your hands in oil before chopping them.  I saved the four jalapenos for last, and covered my hands in olive oil.  But... 30 minutes later as I was throwing everything into the simmering pan, my left thumb started to hurt.  A LOT.  Second degree burn kind of "lot."  I could see the blister forming. 

We discovered that my aloe vera plant is too small to chop up, and I gave up my last leaking bottle.  Ow.  I'm allergic to most antibiotic creams, so I don't really keep things on hand that I cannot use.  So I just put a bandaid on it.  But a few minutes later, my entire left hand felt like it was on fire.  This is not the first time. Last time I made sauce with a jalapeno, I got blisters.  And it was not from touching anything hot.

I'm typing this one-handed, my other hand on an ice pack.

So... Does this happen to other people?  Do I have some sort of special skin allergy?  Do you have suggestions for avoiding the pain?

Comments

[pamwheatfree.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you have a special reaction to jalapenos. My stomach doesn't react to them too well unless they are cooked well and there aren't a lot of them. I think they are supposed to burn, that is what chilies do to protect themselves from getting eaten. I have gotten a chemical burn from a mustang grape so maybe the plants are just fighting back.

You are accident prone. Get someone else to chop the vegetables. Or a food processor.

[ovrclokd.livejournal.com]

*hug* ow ow ow ow!

sounds like you have lots of company in your affliction...

as far as i know, olive oil offers no protection against jalapenos. capsaicin is fat-soluble, so you might be able to wash your hands in olive oil to remove it, but i don't think that extends to preventing the reaction as you're exposed throughout the chopping. your best bet is a barrier - disposable latex (or rubber, if you're allergic to latex) gloves.

[thebroomecloset.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about the burning and the pain! I definitely recommend using disposable latex (or non-latex if you have allergies in that direction, too) gloves when dealing with hot peppers. And don't wipe or touch your face! You can get gloves at a drug store in the medical stuff section; they'll be labeled exam gloves. You can also get them -- usually in bags of about 10 -- at any big box home improvement store labeled for painting or clean-up tasks. L. and I were just talking over the weekend about getting a box for the kitchen so we don't have to go down to the workshop where I keep them.

[sclatter.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the oil probably made it worse by helping to solubilize the capsaicin. I've "burned" myself on jalapeños before; I don't think it requires extraordinary sensitivity. Gloves are obviously a fine idea, but as someone who wears gloves all day every day I have to say that fit is critical especially if you are going to be doing something that requires dexterity (like chopping). I found the gloves I bought at Home Depot to be worse than useless for anything other than keeping wood stain off my fingers. Nitrile gloves are the best if you can find them--most impervious to chemicals, least likely to cause an allergic reaction. Or do what I do when I chop peppers--wash immediately and thoroughly with plenty of SOAP (since it's an oil!) and warm water. :-)

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

I actually did wash my hands right after chopping the peppers. Multiple times, carefully, and with at least two different kinds of soap. Who knows, it might have been even more painful without the washing, but it certainly didn't make the pain go away. I was hoping that would be enough, based on my blister experience last time.

Darn. I was actually hoping that you would have some sort of chemical concoction that would fix it for when I don't have gloves or a husband (who has now volunteered to do my future pepper chopping) handy.

[(Anonymous)]

I keep latex gloves around and just throw a pair on if I have to chop hot peppers. They're pretty cheap at any drugstore/pharmacy.