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Jalapeno Pepper Burn Treatment

Submitted by Paulette

I was recently burned after working with Jalapeno Peppers. After trying several "remedies" and getting no relief, someone told me to put rubbing alcohol on the area. I dabbed it on with a cotton ball and literally within minutes the pain was gone.

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doesn't work Comments By: anon my hand has been burning the past 4 hours, i read this article and tried it. It doesn't work for me   Using rubbing alcohol alone didn't work for me Comments By: Laura Rubbing alcohol alone didn't work for me. Sticking my fingers in a small bowl of table salt helped for a few minutes at a time. Then I alternated from the rubbing alcohol to the salt, the pain went away for longer periods of time.   No good :( Comments By: anonymous Didn't work for me either... several hours of burning now from a Hungarian hot wax and jalepenios   NO HELP WHATSOEVER ! Comments By: Joyce I tried this and am still in agony, don't waste your time.   me either Comments By: blazta it didnt work but i found industrial degreaser does   I don't have any rubbing alcohol. Comments By: anon After reading many "remedies" i tried a combination..orange juice, 409 degeaser and vinegar gave me instant relief. but the burn did return after some time.   relief at last Comments By: Annette Over the past three hours, I have tried soaking my hands in cold water, repeated washing, lotion, aloe vera gel, and vinegar to no avail. The rubbing alcohol stopped the burn within a minute.   Milk!!! Comments By: Anon For immediate relief, milk really worked for me. It soothed quickly, but the burning sensation returned in the morning on my hands.   nope Comments By: peppered the only relief was LEMON JUICE and i tried it all......   Worked for me in seconds!!! Comments By: anu My hands were burning like anything. I tried rubbing alcohol and in seconds the pain went away. I wish I knew it the night that I wasnt able to sleep and was just going crazy from pain.   So SO Comments By: Ja Just tried it and gave it two minutes worked with some affects. Better then none.   YES MILK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Comments By: Rachelle After an hour of pain and everything I could thank of MILK worked. Instant reliefe. It lasted longer then Ice.   MiLk WoRkS Comments By: nIkKi RaE i had severe chili burn and after sitting in a chair at the bathroom sink for about 2 hours my boyfriend found this site and i tried milk. i couldn't keep my hands in the freezing cold milk, so i soaked some wash cloths and wrapped them around my hands. it worked better than anything else i had tried. within a few min. the burning completely disappeared. i have burn marks now because it was so bad, but thanks to this site i was able to relieve the pain.   ouch Comments By: annie nom my hands have been burning for 3 periods of a hockey game and they're just getting worse .. this didn't work ... i am only good holding onto ice cubes   the only true answer Comments By: charlie My girl still has a bit of pain in her hands after cooking with peppers. Currently her only pain is under her fingernails. We tried milk, cold water, soap, lotion, vinegar, vodka, veg oil, rubbing alcohol after begging from the neighbors. Finally, the best advice and the only solution was RUM. A few glass of Rum and tonic and she found some relief. Meanwhile, a pack of ice did provide some relief while the rum kicked in. ...oh, a bit of romance takes the mind away.   Why didn't I wear some rubber gloves?!?! Comments By: DA in Texas{and I don't mean district attorney} Didn't have alcohol, but did have some face cleaning astringent. Gave me some relief, but not for long. I think that this will be the last time that I will have to deal with this--I won't be stupid next time! Gloves it is from now on!!   too little too late Comments By: Leslie Unfortunately this advice came too late for me. I can tell you that bleach, Benydril, antibotic cream, hand lotion, and menthol iontment do not work at all. Ice was a temporary solution. Next time I will try milk or alcohol. No, better yet, I'll try rubber gloves. Duh.   baking soda Comments By: Anon my husband is Mexican and we use peppers all the time the first time i got this type of burn i tried everything then my husband said baking soda wash your hands in it and scrub well wash 2 or 3 times worked good for me and every time since   What worked?? Comments By: Anon Not baking soda, not milk, not sunburn gel, or first aid burn spray, not ice (well maybe temperarily), not calamine lotion or hand lotion. The Germ X did help ease it. Then I put a mud body mask on it trying to draw out the oils and it helped a little. Then I put more Germ X. Neither were complete cures but did offer enough comfort to go sleep!   burns!!! Comments By: rachael i've tried a few things. first a baking soda paste. then a burn cream ice never helps and water will make it worse st.ives hydroxie mask helped alot and the rubbing alcohol helped a lot   Instant Relief Comments By: Bill My tried this and instantly she was relieved. We poured the alcohol on her hands over and over again.   Wish we googled this before going to the hospital! Comments By: Ock Went to the hospital they had no idea, so they googled and got rubbing alchol, it worked right away!!! TipKing says: Wow I am pleased.   This really works Comments By: Mary I was in serious pain & poured the alcohol on. It stopped burning!!   OH MY GOD! Comments By: gianna I TRIED BAKING SODA, IT TOOK IT AWAY, F... THE REST BAKING SODA IS BEST.   jalapenos suck bad Comments By: eryn i tried rubbing alcohol and it did nada. used a thick solution of baking soda and water and it went right away. let the solution thicken and dry on your hands and then take it off.   !!!!!! Baking soda pack works !!!! Rubbing Alcohol & OJ helped Comments By: Michele After cutting up about 40 Jalapenos for canning, 30 min. later, my hands were on fire, but, I had no idea how BAD it would get in the hours ahead. I am an RN and a married for 20 years cook, and have never heard of jalapeno burns. These are the steps we followed with comments on each: 1- soaked hands in bowl of Orange Juice, it immediately brought oil to the surface and I rubbed it off and reasoaked several times, with water rinses in between. Pain still returned within 20 minutes. (The quality of the OJ changed after 3 soaks, and that is when it stopped helping. I wonder if fresh OJ every couple of soaks, would have worked?) 2- soaked my hands in a bowl of milk. Oh heavenly, cool relief! It felt so good and got under my fingernails. But, it too only worked for a short time, but, I thought I was at a better level of pain management. I did not rinse, I just let it drip on a towell. I did feel better, but, hands were sticky but not as hot. 3- took 500mg Tylenol (I am pregnant, so my options were less) 4- went to bed with an ice pack on my hands, it felt good for awhile,then it began to feel like I was holding a ball of fire, and my hands progressed to a level that I seriously considered 911 or calling my doctor. My heart went out to people in burn units who are suffering with agony of pain. I was nearly panicking with pain in my fingertips and nail areas by this point. 2 hours of misery later and growing insane heat, I found this site, and saw 2 more options. ********************* 5- soaked my hands in rubbing alcohol, felt like heaven for 10-minutes, and brought more oil to the surface, which I rubbed off with a towel, and rinsed, multiple times. then the heat started coming back. 6- Last and final rememdy...we poured baking soda in a bowl and added water and coated my hands with a baking soda pack. I lay down with a towel across my stomach, and set my hands on the towel, fingers up, and woke up hours later, aware that I had mummy hands with NO PAIN!!!!!!!!NO PAIN!!!!!!!!!NO PAIN!!!!!! I kept that stuff on all night and did not rinse it until after breakfast, out of fear of the pain returning. I rinsed it off with water in the A.M. and my hands just feel like they have been thruogh the ringer this morning, but, with the exception of a little tenderness, they feel normal. The site of the Jalapeno plants in the garden make me quake. No one in our house will ever be allowed to pick those demons without gloves from hear on. Imagine what these tasty things do to our stomach lining and intenstines! Re-evaluating jalapeno peppers in our diet   nothing works! Comments By: anon My sister & I were working with a bunch of different peppers 4-5 hours ago, & ever since our hands have been burning beyond beliefe! We've tried every single suggestion listed on here, & nothing works! We found that milk gives the best temporary reliefe, but only for about 2 minutes at a time. I even have burn marks on my fingers, & they started swelling about an hour ago. HELP!!!   burning lips Comments By: Terry After being in the sun all day my sister ate a very hot jalapeno pepper. Her lips immediately began to burn intensly. She was in so much pain I could not beleive it. By the time I read this thread we had already tried ice, bread, and milk. The milk helped a bit but as soon as she removed it the burn returned. The baking soda mix worked. It did not take the burn completely away but she is now calm and can tolerate the residual burning.   My cure really helped!!!!! Comments By: Julie I cut and handled jalapenos bare-handed. Dumb. Anyway, the burning was horrible and unbearable. I tried ice water, vegetable oil, lemon juice, calamine lotion, baking soda, toothpaste, soap, and nothing worked. I intermittently sprayed on aloe vera burn spray with lidocaine, which helped temoporarily before the burning came back in full force. I finally saturated two wash clothes with the aloe and lidocaine spray and placed them in plastic bags and then placed my hands on the wash cloths in the bags and kept the bags on my hands. That made it bearable and I was able to go to sleep. (It was night). I woke up in the middle of the night and the pain was completely gone.   Baking Soda Paste-Best Comments By: CJ I tried everything it seemed. Water-just made it worse. Aloe, alcohol, tomato juice, vegetable oil, cortisone cream, toothpaste, etc., all failed. Baking soda paste has lasted. hopefully will be able to sleep with a glove on. The others, burn came back as soon as they dried or were removed from the solution.   HOT HANDS!!! Comments By: J.D. After peeling a few jalapenos and deseeding them ... my hands began to burn uncontrollably!! I spent the first hour w/my hands dipped in a bucket of ice and water... as soon as i removed my hands the burning came back... so i googled jalapeno hand remedies and found this site.... i tried the calamine lotion remedy... I completely saturated my hands with it and allowed it to dry completely. I left it on for 10 minutes after it dried and then rinsed it off w/cool water... to my suprise my right hand stopped burning but my left continued to burn ... so I then took some baking soda and mixed it w/a little water into a creamy thick paste like substance... I spread this over my entire hands and in between my fingers... I allowed it to dry completely and then kept it on for 15 minutes ... I immediately noticed the burning had stopped in the other hand.. and when I rinsed it off... there was no more burning !!!! :::wheeeeeeew::!! i was soo relieved!! Thank God for baking soda!!!!   baking soda best for me Comments By: Burned beyond belief cut up jalapeno pepper, didn't think and wiped my nose. In minutes my entire face was on fire. I ran around trying to flush it out with water... I drank milk which helped a bit... after reading this site I took baking soda-- mixed in in a bowl till I got a thick paste and applied it to my face with a cloth. Instant relief... it's not perfect but a lot better than just moments ago.   tried it all and nothing works! Comments By: hothands have to keep my hands in ice and water or my hands burst into flames. I have tried everything!!!   Relief at last! Comments By: Wendy After 4 hours of burning agony on my fingertips from seeding jalapenos, the baking soda worked! Milk worked for my face, but nothing worked on my fingers till I tried the baking soda. Thanks!   Nothing helped me! Comments By: Dawn H. It's been about 3 hours and my hands are still on fire! I soaked them in milk, used dishwashing detergent, pure alcohol, aloe from a plant, 409 and baking soda packs... Whenever I touch water it gets worse. I even used a lavender wax remover. The only time I feel any relief is when I put baking soda in a bowl with ice cubes. But that only lasts a few minutes until the cubes are thawed out and warm, then the burning sensation is back. Help!!!!!   chilli burns on hands Comments By: Brian Longworth i deseeded around 5o jelapenos without gloves (foolishly) the burning was so intense, i tried cold water, lemon juice, baking soda, vinegar, ice nothing worked except tying a marigold rubber glove around my wrists with water inside it to relieve the pain.The burning went away within minutes and came back minutes after taking my hands out of the gloves.I kept the marigolds on for several hours until the burning went away for good.   What worked for my wife... Comments By: dougg At a friend's house, my wife was given fresh peppers out of the garden and asked to slice them up....nobody warned her to wear gloves, and she didn't know better. Her hands have been on fire for 3+ hours. We tried: Onions, potatoes, vegetable oil, milk, baking soda, lemon juice, rubbing alcohol.... none of these worked. Then, we tried: facial mud mask rubbed all over the hands and wait 10 minutes. This started to help. But, in the end, what did the trick was: Gojo waterless handcleaner, followed by several generous helpings of Dawn dishwashing detergent. They guy down at the hardware store told me Dawn will disolve any oil based substance (including capsaicin, the oil based substance which makes peppers hot) and was even used to cleanup major oil spills such as the exxon valdez spill. Anyway, her hands are almost back to normal now...   WORKS!! Comments By: jannie i tried milk, bakeing soda everything!! and i read this artical and dumped rubbing alchohal on it and it worked!!!   THIS DOESN'T WORK!! Comments By: 'Anon.' My wife deseeded many jalapenos her hands are burning horribly. We tried : ice, water, aloe, solarcaine, toothpaste, alcohol, rubbing alcohol, and much much more... time may be the only thing....   St. Ives Hydroxy Masque Comments By: Fire in my nose I too got the dreaded jalapeno burns on and in my nose. I tried many of the suggestions with temporary relief. The one that is lasting for me is the St. Ives Hydroxy masque. I am soooo glad that I actually had this in the house. Ahhh....sweet relief.   miracle Comments By: poco Baking Soda. It really does work-- you just gotta get up a real good paste... then scrub, scrub... and then do it again... and agan. Third time's the charm.   I'm glad I'm not the only one Comments By: I will now wear gloves I foolishly diced 5 scotch bonnet peppers w/o gloves thinking it wouldn't matter with so few. Here I am the next morning googling first aid. Last night I soaked in yogurt and it felt fantastic but was only temporary. I will try baking soda next.   Ouch!!!!! Comments By: Anon I was working with and cleaning about 30 fresh Jalapeno Peppers out of the garden yesterday and after hours and hours of an incredable burning pain, my hand swelling and many tries of corn starch paste, dawn soap, benadryl (cream and pill), burn cream, and a bucket of ice water I called my doctor. He gave me a prescription for a steroid cream. After two doses about 5 hours apart with an ice pack, I finally got relief. I was slow coming but with a pain pill so I could sleep, this morning there is still a bit of tingle, burn and sentitivity but nothing like yesterday starting at one in the afternoon!   BAKING SODA really worked! Comments By: Debbie I felt the burn from the jalepenos getting worse so I tried the baking soda. I mixed it with a little bit of water and then soaked/rubbed my hands in this paste a couple of times for about 10 minutes each time (I also rinsed and dried them inbetween). The pain completely went away!   Amen for the Arm & Hammer!!! Comments By: Never Again Yep! As I am typing with one hand after 6 hours of pain,it being 2:23am, the pain has really subsided!All my rings were cleaned at the same time too. I only chopped one small pepper and didn't touch the seeds, God bless those who really went to town chopping 30 plus.   Baking soda does the trick! Comments By: RN I cut jalapeno peppers today w/o gloves, pulled the seeds out using my nails, not thinking about the heat. Later my hands and under my nails starting burning fiercely. I tried ice water for an hour but the pain kept coming back. Then rubbing alcohol, it did nothing! Baking soda paste for about 10 minutes x3 the pain was gone!!! Thanks for the advice!   Sugar Comments By: Melissa Water makes things worse. Bleach?! That's not supposed to be used on skin. Using baking soda to cleanse first is good but I found that scrubbing with sugar and rinsing in sugar water (HEAVY on the sugar)was a miracle. I also rinsed with cold lemon juice from a bottle. I let the sugar and lemon juice air dry. I only had pain for an hour or so before I discovered this. With the first rinse the pain subsided quite a long time and I only re-rinsed in the sugar water left in my sink once before the pain was gone for good. And even the redness has completely disappeared.   please try Comments By: too hot to handle i recently have suffered from jalapeno burn and i tried everything i read but please try this and also keep in mind that even a doctor will say time is all you need so listen up. put some cold water immediately on it and wipe clean. then get some burn cream with inactive ingredients and rub gently all over. if you are doing something i am afriad you will have to delay for a short time at least one hour. so after that either lay or sit down take two pain tablets and relax this is what i did and i felt relaif in one hour.   I LOVE THIS SITE!!! Comments By: Cherie' My husband request Jalapeno poppers with dinner. My hands were on FIRE during dinner. I ate with a frozen bag of corn on my hand. Tried the milk, burn treatment gel, warm water & frozen veggies. I even had my husband call his Mexican best friend in Georgia~rec. voice mail. Tried the Alcohol worked immediately. Pain came back repeated every time pain. Works great compared to the pain!   Trader Joes Orange Peach Mango Juice Comments By: Erin My whole face was burning and my eye and my lips. I filled a bowl with this juice and took a face bath. It worked when baking soda, rubbing alcohol, milk, and ice did not. I feel very sticky and happy now. And the juice is delicious.   Rubbing Alcohol Comments By: Steph worked very well!!!!!!fantastic   rubbing alcohol Comments By: Anon thanks. I was handling a pepper, and I without thinking rubbed my nose, nothing worked to get it to stop, I came across this site and it worked!! Thanks!!   Baking Soda WORKS!!!! Comments By: burny hands I put a paste of baking soda and let it dry for about 10 minutes, after which i washed my hands with dawn and then dipped my hands in milk after which i applied Aloe Vera... this did the trick for me   OMG MIX IT ALL Comments By: tammie i tried every thing the pain was always there.... finally my bueatiful smart daughter helped me....she googled and found ure comments...so we tried everything....the salt and alchohol mixture helped a little....then milk which made it burn more....then baking soda which helped after a while and the lemon juice with a final rince of baking soda....ive learned my lesson   Milk and Baking Soda Paste Comments By: Lyns Make a paste with milk and baking soda and put it on the burnt area. I scratched my nose after cutting 1 jalapeno and the burn moved to both nostrils and then up my nose. SO PAINFUL!!! I put the paste all over my nose area and even up my nose, but it took the pain away instantly, but I had to keep it on there for an hour until all the oils disolved. I also wet a paper towel with milk and held that on some other areas that the burn spread.   Fast Orange did it for me - Instant relief Comments By: Joe Alcohol had no effect - but this site gave me the idea of using Fast Orange hand degreaser ( I usually use it after working under the car )   Baking Soda worked for me. Comments By: MrsYFA I cut the last bit of a habanero pepper and cleaned out the seeds to prepare it for some fish and about 45 minutes later my hands felt like they were going to implode! I tried bleach, hand sanitizer, aloe vera gel, milk (external and internal), rubbing stainless steel (sounds weird but it did work momentarily),lotion, dishwashing liquid, rubbing alcohol, and then finally baking soda which actually provided lasting results. I never knew a tiny piece of vegetation could wreak so much havoc!   burning hell!! Comments By: gaily i chopped 4 japoleno peps ooh my god the burning was horrendous i googled to find a site saying use yogurt as id just put a munch bunch strawberry jogurt in the bin that my grandson louie didnt want i went rumaging and found it!! i rubbed it in and left it on my fingers for 10 mins i couldnt believe it the pain had gone my fingers feel a bit numb but can cope with that!! i have since rubbed it in again and shall do so all night!! thank god for grandkids!!   Nose, Mouth and Hand Burn Comments By: Ouchie! I tried the baking soda remedy suggested by everyone and combined it with a bit of water and some baking powder, as I had run out of soda. I applied it with cotton swabs to my nose and mouth and soaked my hands in it. It definitely gave me a nice relief from the crazy burning pain, but did come back a bit later. I was very happy to have any relief, though, so try it until you can get other things to work! Vaseline was a nice cooling alternative as well.   Capsaicin Comments By: Azrekiel Capsaicin is usually only dissolved in alcohol. The higher the proof the better. That why other had Luck with Rum or the C3H8O IPA. Next time keep a bottle of Vodka or something you like around.   HU HOT!!!!!!! Comments By: Dumb Packer Fan Yesterday before I was to sit down and enjoy my Packer game, I was slicing and de-seeding several Jalepeno peppers to bread and deep fry not thinking too much about the consequences I am still paying for 15 hours later. I didn't hardly sleep at all and was in disbelief that the heat and numbness of both of my hands was from the Jalepenos. Duh!!!! Get a clue girl! I even called in to work and said I couldn't make it I was so miserable and without my cold packs on my hand's what would I do? I decided to "Google" search and found a couple of sites on burns to the skin after contact with Jalepenos. I did try the rubbing alcohol and for the last 15 minutes do not feel the heat any more, I am holding my breath. Too good to be true? Was worth the try, my hands are cold and numb but at least the heat is gone even temporarily. At least I know I am not in some other health crisis which tormented my sleepless head all night. If the heat and pain comes back, I will try the alcohol again. Thanks! Good luck! I must admit, I am a little frightened of the beloved Jalepeno now. ") I didn't even get to eat them!!!!   Cold Oil Comments By: Anonymous Capsaicin, the substance that creates the "heat" that you feel when you eat a pepper, is oil/fat soluble. Perhaps if you place a cup of oil in the freezer for 10 minutes, then place your hand in the cup, it may go away. That is also why milk works. Milk has fat in it that dissolves the capsaicin.   15 hours of pain Comments By: BuRniN QuEEN i was making stuffed jalapenos for my family this was my 1st time maybe 30 minutes later my hands were in the most pain i had ever felt in my life so i called posion control and they said maalox the stomach med. to rub your hands in it thickly it didnt work right away but it started dying down by 3 hrs later there is lil to no pain at all!! im so happy i couldnt sleep for 27 hours also i took some tylonel pain relief im so happy!!! i suggest maalox the lemon flavored one!!   the ragin' cajun got burned!!! Comments By: doc man o man, i'm a cajun born and raised, pepper eatin', hot sauce drinkin', whiskey shootin kinda guy but i met my match just a few minutes ago. my friends and family say i'm not natural for the stuff i eat. jalapeno's are sweet to me, dave's insanity sauce is a bit warm, i put hot sauce on EVERYTHING. too bad i made a careless mistake today and put it on my face. cut and de-seeded about 20 japs for grilling. rinsed my hands and sat down with a beer. casually brushed my mustahe and nose and continued drinking. within a couple minutes my nose was tingling. no big deal. but it got worse. this was new to me! so not thinking, i went to the bathroom to rinse my face. big ole mistake there. the water spred the heat like gasoline to a fire. my nose, mouth, eyes, and believe it or not my ears!! my cheeks were burning too. so using a good method, milk, i began flushing my face. snorting milk! gargling milk! smearing all over my face. my wife and her nephew couldnt stop laughing. thru my tears and snot i was laughing too but it was still so intense. thru teary eyes i managed to google this and found that rubbing alcohol works too. so i tried that, cotton ball and alcohol. it worked. its been about 20 minutes since it happened till now and theres only a slight tingle. i've never tried the oj, the vinegar, lime juice, or baking soda but the rubbing alcohol and milk seem to work pretty well. so i guess the best remedy for anyone is just some time and advise. the advise? NEXT TIME WEAR GLOVES!!! and hopefully those peppers were worth it!   IT'S A COMFORT Comments By: Rick Gamel THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE INFORMATION AND HELP IN RELIEVING MY PEPPER BURNS. THE STIFF RUM AND PINEAPPLE JUICE DRINK WORKED BEST FOR ME. IN FACT IT'S GETTING BETTER EVERY MINUTE. ABOVE ALL, THANKS FOR THE AWARENESS THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY NITWIT OUT THERE TO HAVE PEELED JALAPENOS WITHOUT GLOVES AND A HAZMAT SUIT.   Jalapeno Horror Comments By: John Teets I was making some killer salsa one afternoon and cut up approximately 15 jalepeno's,red & green,and within an hour my hands were on fire! I tried rubbing alcohol,lemmon juice,soap & water,nothing was working. My wife is very sick so she gets home health care RN's to do her treatments,therfore, I hit the RN that was on duty up as to what she might recommend for my burning hands. She explained that the skin is porous so pour Hydrogen Peroxide on hands and let stand for two minutes. Do this twice. Then apply Hydrocortisone Ointment USP,2.5%. The pain was gone within 45 minutes to an hour!! Hope this helps someone because I have never felt pain like that in my life. Good luck!   burning lips from jalapeno peppers.. Comments By: mikeguch after 30 minutes of pain... i tried running under hot water..... instant relief......   hurts a lot!! Comments By: rheinygal Ok, I have tried the milk...some relief, lasted about 10 minutes, while hands were in the bowl of milk; baking soda paste....similar results, I had only enough baking soda for one application, so not sure if additional applications would have yielded longer lasting results; Dawn dish-soap...nothing; a sugar-scrub (poured a handful of sugar into hand and added just enough water to scrub, did this five times, about 2 minutes ago....the burn is beginning to return already! I have to go to work in the am, and I really need to remove my contact lenses, but am afraid to touch my eyes!!! Help!   Jalapeno Hands Comments By: Amanda I did this last night... the pain was one of the worst I've felt... I tried lemon juice, rubbing alcohol, milk, dawn... last night I finally had my husband use a car degreaser... which I know is really gross, but it took the pain away for me to sleep last night. I woke up this morning with the burning pain back.. so had the hubby pick up baking soda, made a paste with water and worked great!! No pain and its been aout 13 hours since I used it... I really suggest everyone try baking soda!!!   Milk is the answer Comments By: rusty Milk took the pain away immediately   Gasoline Comments By: Charlie I sliced and de-seeeded about 20 jalepenios. After about half an hour my hands were on fire. I found this site and tried everything i could find, to no avail. finally i got to thinking. since gasoline can take everything else off your hands maybe it would work for this too. i tried it and found instant relief!!   Oh my GOD!!!! Comments By: Lynn I have never been through pain like this in my life. So far I've tried milk, cream cheese, yogert, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, alcohol and solarcaine w/ aloe. I even called 911--no help said need to wait out the pain??--I pity anyone who eats my jerked chicken at the party that I'm not going to.   help !! Comments By: poor daughter !! well here goes we will try the baking power paste, have tried all else even emergancy and poisons information, same thing have to wait out the pain. My daughter was pleased with her job in the local restuarant.... day 5 chop the chillis, you would think they had sence enough to tell her to wear gloves ! grrrrrrrrrrr says the mum !!!!   alas, Rubbing Alcohol worked Comments By: Chet I tried pure lemon juice, cold water, ice, soaked my hands in a cup of yogurt, went to the store to buy vodka and soak it, submerged it in a bowl of baking soda, nothing gave relief. Finally, I tried rubbing alcohol. The relief was instant. It only lasted about 5 minutes before the burn returns but you do this continually and within about 3 hours the pain subsided enough that I was distracted to my normal routine of doing things. It still feels sensitive and it's been over 10 hours.   ouchie ouchie ouchie!! Comments By: MommaRea after cutting and seeding 20 jalapenos, my hands were burnin! i too tried lotion, aloe, cold water, and cortisone. i've been up most of the night. gonna try the rubbing alcohol. so glad i'm not the only one who has done this!!   Baking Soda worked Comments By: Becky Although I agree neutralizing it with baking soda doesnt make sense, since its really not an acid... I tried it as a last resort, and was thrilled that it WORKED. Step 1- Put a DVD in the player and hit start. Step 2- Pour half the box into a big mixing bowl. Step 3- add about 1/3 cup of water to make a thick paste. Step 4- Chill out for 2 hours with your hands in the mixture. Play if you must. :o) Ahhhhhh...... relief   VINEGAR Saved me... Comments By: Matt I seeded and devained a couple of Jalapenos last night and then washed my hands with plain old soap and water. As I learned after the fact, all I managed to do was spread the pepper oil all over my hands. After about 2 hours of pure intence misery and searching around the internet I broke out my jug of distilled vinegar. Scrubbed and rinced my hands about 3 times using only the vinegar and that did the trick!   Baking Soda did the trick! Comments By: G.A. Baking soda was the solution for me. I tried several different things, different soaps, lotions, medicated ointments, even the rubbing alcohol. The only thing that worked was the baking soda!   Rubbing Alcohol & Baking Soda Comments By: lil calico cat I will never seed jalapenos or habaneros without wearing gloves ever again. Ouch!!! Both my hands were on fire! I seeded a dozen jalapenos and half a dozen habaneros. I tried soap and water, Goop hand cleaner, Orange clean, scrubbing with salt, scrubbing with sugar, hydrogen peroxide, soaking my hands in a bucket of water (bad idea as it felt like I was moving the oil around to other parts of my hands that were previously pain free), aloe vera (slight relief for about 3 seconds). I didn't want to go to Urgent Care and in my internet search found this site. Thank you!!! The rubbing alcohol helped on contact but the burn came back as soon as it evaporated. The Baking Soda worked well, but once again the burning returned. I found the greatest relief by mixing a little bit of rubbing alcohol with the baking soda to form a thick paste. The relief was imediate and lasted, even when it dried, I thought I was healed and washed it off and the pain came back. The pain was less intense, but still there. I made some more paste and left it on for the next 3 hours. When I washed it off my hands felt great. This did dry out my skin but I felt it was worth it.   BAKING SODA AND MILK! Comments By: dani Ok, cutting up Jalepeno peppers is not fun! I didn't think about it and rubbed my face and was biting my nails. PAIN all over my lips and up my nose!! The burn was horrible. Did a search on how to get rid of the burn and came across this. Before hand I put milk on napkin and held it on my lips...pain GONE!! But it moved up my nostrils! OMG!! Didn't realize the pain could get much worse!!! So I tried the milk..nothing...tried the rubbing alchohol...OMG!! DON'T USE IT!! It burned 5 million times worse!! Got out the baking soda and milk and made a paste...put it on and instantly the pain was gone!! Word of advise...live it more milky than pasty! The paste falls off your face. I found more liquid stays on better. Hope this helps someone out there! you all helped me!! Thanks!!!   I only diced 2 jalapenos-OUCH! Comments By: Jannie I only seeded & diced 2 jalapenos, but then diced 3 cloves of garlic too. The burn is very bad and my fingers are Valentines red!! I poured Witch Hazel over them (it's what I had)helped a lot. Then rubbed Dawn dish soap on them and let that set a minuet or 2. Feels much better. Thanks to every one who left all these great suggestions. I should have remembered that the garlic burns because several years ago while canning pickles I got bad burns from all the garlic cloves I peeled.   alcahol after using baking soda Comments By: Dorry well I was at home and had de-seeded and chopped up just one jalapeno and had never been told how to handle jalapenos before and before I knew it, I had reached up to rub my itchy nose and it was on fire and so was the rest of my face. I didn't have rubbing alcohol and went online and saw someone saying that baking soda works. Before I got online I had called my husband and he had called someone he knew who lived nearby who would bring over alcohol. I was desperate by this time and ran to get the baking soda. I caked it on my face wherever it burned and then rubbed it in so that it was hidden for when our neighbor got here with the alcohol. It worked too! I went online and read how if you happen to have peeled and seeded and chopped jalapenos by hand have a bowl of milk ready to soak your hands in and then wash with soap and water.   Maalox for quick and permanent relief Comments By: Sarah I too called poison control after unsuccessfully following the advice of on-call nurses and not getting any advice from doctors. Poison control knew right away what I meant when I said I had burned my hands on chili peppers. The lady said to soak my hands in Maalox for 20 minutes and it had been 8 hours or so since I cut up the chili peppers - it was the only thing that worked for good. Poison control says it does something to the nerve endings in your skin. I had done this once before and the rubbing alcohol cured me but it didn't work at all this time. Hope this is helpful for people!   jalapeno HOT !!! Fire burning hands... Comments By: Shannon I tryed everything and nothing worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   When nothing else worked... Comments By: Erin Like you all, I tried the rubbing alcohol, baking soda, vodka, milk...all worked for a short time but the pain returned once I removed them. Finally I used "burn gel" from my first aid kit (from Fred Meyer) and after the second application, the pain went away! Something to try instead of just waiting out the pain.   Facial burns Comments By: Echo Yeah...it was bad. Sooo all of the other suggestions were wonderful but they involved using things I couldn't exactly soak my face in. My burn was my upper lip/under my nose. Yeah I scratched my nose while cutting japapenos...genius. I tried the baking soda, dabbing alcohol, milk, and lotions. All of which helped momentarily but with all the burning sensation my nose started running, my eyes watering and then breathing in general caused more heat. SOO my ONLY SOLUTION was the St. Ives Hydroxy Mask (sp?) that I had shoved in the back of my cabinet. It cooled it down and when it dried I could peel it off and there was no more pain.   It's kind of gross but... Comments By: Jenn I can't believe no one has tried this, but I actually went and *peed on my hands* after trying various other different "remedies". Within a minute of doing this (and then of course washing with soap and water) the burning was *gone*. I repeated it a few times just to make sure, and I have been pain-free since I did this.   Baking soda really works. Do NOT use water--it only makes it worse!!! Comments By: chef Water will just spread the burn further through your skin by soaking it and allowing the acid in the peppers seep deeper into the epidermal layers! DO NOT SOAK. Make a thick paste of baking soda and a little water. Rub into affected skin, and pile on any extra to dry into a crust. Rinse and dry area well. Pain went away within 10 minutes. Make sure to keep a towel under affected area as the soda dries and crumbles off. Repeat for really severe burns.   Pain Killers & Baking Soda as soon as possible! Comments By: Nacho Libre Yes, I now know never to chop chili peppers without gloves but as there were only three I didn't think it would be an issue. The pain started to increase steadily over the next hour until finally the only relief was from a bowl of water - little did I know how much worse I would make it! DO NOT USE WATER - use milk instead but don't soak in the same solution for too long or you may spread it to other parts of your skin. I also tried alcohol which helped for a few minutes at a time but my hand was still on fire 3 hours later. Burn gel didn't help either. Finally I tried baking soda mixed with milk and scrubbed, washed off, dried and re-applied 3 or 4 times. After the last aplication, I washed it off, dipped my hands in milk and let it dry naturally...finally only a dull tingle that eventually died away altogether - bliss! I would also strongly advise taking painkillers as soon as you start to feel the burn in order to manage the 1st phase of the burn which is really, really intense!   Someone could make a fortune! Comments By: jenny b. hurtin! Last night I thought I was going crazy while I suffered through the unbearable pain of jalapenos! I tried everything and at one point, the pain was so intense, I thought my skin would blister! In the end, I fell asleep with my hand in a bowl of vinegar which seemed to finally do the trick. I had never heard of this and I thought I was alone in my ridiculous pain until I read all of the postings on this site. If I were more ambitious, I'd find something that works, bottle that crap, and take it to market because I'm telling you- I would have paid any amount of money to make the pain go away! So go ahead- take this idea and go be rich... I'll take my cut in any form of payment but peppers!   it dont work Comments By: guy how needs to cure chili burn you realy need olive oil   This Site Comments By: Vince Found this site and the laughter made the pain go away for a few minutes, i am trying milk next so hopefully that does the trick if not a shot of JD might do the trick!!!!   Best laugh I've had in months Comments By: Hot Pee? My girlfriend is sharing everyone's common problem (jalapenos). So I thought I'd try to find something to help her. She even gave the peeing trick a try (it burned like hell). Next step is Burn Cream. Meanwhile, I've been laughing my ass off, imagining you poor souls, striking the keys on your keyboard with your firey hot fingers.   I could kiss everyone who wrote in! Comments By: Erika Oh, thank you, thank you. It was Germ-X that did the trick for me. Oh, sweet relief!   Unbelieveable Pain Comments By: Gina Ive had 2 knee surgeries and 3 broken toes and this tops the pain x 10. I sneezed after i chopped the peppers and accidently rubbed my nose and upper lip... the only only only thing that helped was a thick paste of baking soda and dipping my face in a big bowl of milk. Next time just got to max and erma's for tortilla soup.   HONEY WORKS! Comments By: NADINE HONEY! HONEY! HONEY! DO NOT USE WATER, IT WILL ONLY MAKE YOUR BURN WORSE! FIRST WASH YOUR BURN VERY BRIEFLY WITH SOAP AND WATER IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE TO, THEN APPLY A LAYER OF HONEY AND LEAV IT ON FOR A WHILE. WHEN DONE ONLY WIPE OFF AND AVOID WATER   baking soda! Comments By: anon i made a paste of baking soda then put it on the burn spots, really thick. then put latex dr gloves over top so i could still function and it took the pain away.   Baking Soda!!!!!!!! Comments By: Paige Scrub it a several times with baking soda paste. If you wait a few minutes, the burning will go away.   Milk Baking Soda Paste Didn't work Comments By: LadyEmmaleth What worked for me was caladryl spray and rubbing alcohol. I used the caladryl as a desperate measure and it worked for a few minutes. Then i had to respray. But the second time it worked long enough to get some rubbing alcohol. The rubbing alcohol did the trick. Never again will chop peppers w/o gloves.   Alcahol took 50% pain away Comments By: Lorelie after cutting 24 jalapenos and stuffing them with cream cheese (they better be good after all this) pain set in, washed and soaked in water, let dry and instant pain set in. tried soaking in milk and instant pain again after it dried, tried rubbing alacahol and it took maybe 50% of pain away, did dishes like a dummy and pain was back and even worse menatal note to self:(KEEP HANDS OUT OF WATER). Here I am trying to find something to do to keep my mind off the pain.   7 1/2 hours of PAIN!!!! Comments By: ANON So i decided that i was going to make jalapeno poopers and went to town cutting and de-seeding about 30 peppers with my bare hands, not thinking, then i started to smell th peper, it started to make me sneeze and I wiped my face with my hands before I knew it my face was on FIRE and breaking out in a red heat rash the only remedy that worked on my face was milk and baking soda paste, my hands then begun to burn it felt like my nails were falling off from the heat I tried everything i had in my my house....I found a process you have to go through to really get rid of the oil and pain it leaves 1st find a degreaser like dawn or gojo and do sereval washs with little water... 2nd do a soak in rubbing alcohol 3rd do a soak in milk and baking soda 4th try a mud mask this really relieves the pain something to do with it drawing it out..... 5th scrub with a paste of baking soda repetdly until it goes away this finall worked I also took 2 tylenol and a sleeping pill to go to sleep..... never ever had I felt a pain like this...   TOOTHPASTE Comments By: Rachel typing this with 2 fingers all others are covered with toothpaste. but guess what? they're not burning! gloriously cold. thanks for the tip to whomever suggested colgate.   Washing up Liquid! Comments By: Dave Ive foolishly sliced up around 10 Jalapeno Peppers with out wearing gloves, as you can imagine my hands are now on fire!!! Ive tried everything recommended on this site, and i mean everything!. My final experiment was with Fairy Washing up Liquid. The liquid has a de-greasing agent in it as well as aloe vera, which brings the Peppers 'nasty burning' oil to the surface of the skin. I just thickly applied it to my burn, scrubbed it into the skin, then rinsed off. After doing this a few times the burning has stopped for good.