Last night I was preparing for my YW activity and I was rushing around getting everything ready. Feeling very domestic, I was making some soup for dinner, as I was also on the phone planning a dinner group time. I was feeling like quite the multi-tasker mom.It was about five o'clock which for my children is what I like to call "the witching hour" A PHRASE MY SISTER USED. That is when something in the air changes and all things mischievous begin, and screaming and wailing and... well you get the idea.
My vegetables were sauteing and I was cutting up a jalapeno to add to the pot. I was chatting away and de-seeding the pepper, when I paused and absentmindedly touched the end of my nose. I continued to talk to my friend when a burning sensation began to slowly take precedence on the tip of my nose. I thought nothing of it until, my eyes began to water, I told my friend that I would call her back. The burning continued to get worse. Not thinking I rubbed it again to ease the pain with my unwashed pepper slicing hand...then I realized what I had just done. The burning then spread to the other side of my nose and crept up into my nostrils and onto my top lip. I was on FIRE! I had to do something fast. I washed my hands with soap and water as tears and snot (sorry if TMI) began streaming out of my eyes and nose.
I have birthed two children and I like to think I have a pretty high pain tolerance, so believe me when I say that this was some intense pain, not just an "oh, wow I just ate some spicy pepper kind of hot."
I dialed my sisters number to ask her what to do. She immediately googled and started rattling off all the remedies she was reading, including the fact that some people said they went to the extent of dialing 911 and that it took hours for the pain to go away...um, (thanks sis). So meanwhile my children are screaming, and Gavin has Everett in some kind of scissor kick hold. I am frantically applying mud masks, alcohol rubs and baking soda wet packs to my face. I am yelling at Gavin to go to his room. Finally looking like some kind of dripping zombie with white ooze coming off my face from the baking soda mask, my children realized something bad was happening.
My sister said she was on her way over. Feeling somewhat relieved I turned around just in time to see Everett on the kitchen floor having just put something small and green into his mouth! I panicked, He let out a scream that could deafen, and I grabbed the thing out of his hand then for some stupid reason touched it to my own mouth to see if it was indeed the dreaded jalapeno. it was.
So now my mouth is on fire as well as my face my 9 month old is screaming and rubbing his increasingly reddening mouth. He is looking at me horrified at both the pain in his mouth and my own monster like face (still had all the baking soda on it):)
Long story short, about an hour and a half later his pain subsided as did his poor red face, I found that the remedy for jalapeno burns is a milk and baking soda wet pack applied many-many times to dry out the jalapeno oils.
I have used jalapenos many times and NEVER had anything like this happen. My sisters friend who is from Mexico and grew up growing and using jalapenos said she never cuts them without gloves...lesson learned. BEWARE THE JALAPENO my friends!
