Jalapeno Burn

Shortly after I finished making the salsa and guacamole last weekend, I developed a burning sensation on my hand. It was centralized on my left hand, in between my pinky and ring finger, and in between my ring and middle finger. It didn't take me long to figure out that it was from the jalapeno.

The burning sensation felt like that feeling you get when you come into a warm house from the cold. However, it was only worse and would not go away. I tried washing my hands a few times, but it actually only made it worse. After I washed my hands, the feeling spread all over my left hand and it would not go away!

I then tried soaking my hand in water, then ice water but that didn't work. If anything it only made it worse. I then just gave up, and figured that the pain would go away eventually. I had to go to work anyways, so I just sucked it up, and let the pain go away on its own.  By the time that I got home from work about five hours later, the pain was gone.

But, that actually wasn't the end of it. I had a shower later that evening, and the pain came back worse than ever. I quickly went online to figure out what was going on. I read up and found out that hot water only aggravates jalapeno burns, and can bring back pain, even two days after contact.

I was desperate for relief, so I tried pretty much all remedies that I could find online. First I put a cold compress on my hand, but that only gave very temporary relief. Next I tired rubbing alcohol dabbed on my hand. Many people online sang it's praises, so I was hopeful -- however it didn't work for me. Next I tried soaking my hand in milk, but that didn't work well either. Lastly, I tired baking soda. I mixed baking soda and water to make a paste, and then I put it all over my hand. It worked, I think. About five minutes after that almost all of my pain was gone! I'm not sure what did the trick, since I tired all the remedies in such a short period of of time. However something did work! I was just happy for the pain to be gone.

And lets just say -- I've learned my lesson. The next time I cut Jalapenos, I will wear gloves!