This IS clearing out my sinuses, but still.

December 31, 2011 11:10 AM

Dumb kitchen move question: how do you wash capsaicin out from inside your nose?

I was making pozole and must have absent-mindedly scratched under my lip or blown my nose before washing my hands. Yes it was dumb. I've read other askmes about capsaicin and mucous membranes, but am not about to put milk inside my neti pot; what else can I do?....

Help.

posted by EmpressCallipygos to health & fitness (25 answers total)

salt water (to not overabsorb water) with lots of sugar (to mitigate the burning)?
posted by toodleydoodley at 11:15 AM on December 31, 2011

IOW, brine your nose.
posted by toodleydoodley at 11:17 AM on December 31, 2011

I'm actually trying a couple of milk-soaked q-tips; that's sort of helping. I just hope to god my roommate stays in her room a while because I don't know HOW I'm gonna explain this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:19 AM on December 31, 2011 [6 favorites]

I've done the same thing before, and trying to wash it off with water did not help. I don't see how adding salt would make any difference. I ended up just waiting for it to stop burning. It didn't take as long as I thought it would!

The milk is a good idea; it sounds like it would help because of the fat content.
posted by lali at 11:22 AM on December 31, 2011

Time is about the only thing that's going to help. I do this to my eyes all too often.
posted by cjorgensen at 11:25 AM on December 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

If you are brave you could try snorting the milk through your nose, just put it in your mouth and pull. Another good solvent for capsaicin is alcohol, but I don't think you want to have that in your nose.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 11:31 AM on December 31, 2011

My roommate did this over Thanksgiving and it was a fun to experiment because she would try every ridiculous suggestion we gave her.
Did not work: water, almond milk, cold cream, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, butter.
Worked: milk (um... snorted), swearing.
posted by ke rose ne at 11:31 AM on December 31, 2011 [7 favorites]

Fat absorbs heat. Umm, put some butter up your nose? Or just wait, because it will stop burning (says the woman who has gotten capsaicin in her eyes more than once.)
posted by maudlin at 11:32 AM on December 31, 2011

OK, forget the butter. Get the fattiest milk or cream you have on hand and try snorting that.
posted by maudlin at 11:34 AM on December 31, 2011

Pour some milk into the cup of your hands and dip just your nostrils in. I did this in desperation when I could not stop sneezing (can't do a neti pot - feels like drowning) and it worked beautifully.
posted by Space Kitty at 11:35 AM on December 31, 2011

Full-fat yogurt or heavy cream, on a q-tip. It won't make it vanish, but it helps a lot. Don't ask me how I know this.
posted by rtha at 11:35 AM on December 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

I have done something very similar (pickled jalepenos). What you want to do is rub sour cream on the area. Also effective is alcohol on a q-tip to the area. Good luck. Btw, for my issue a mix of 2 parts sour cream to one part vodka was the magic trick ) YMMV!
posted by saradarlin at 11:37 AM on December 31, 2011

What's wrong with milk in a neti pot?
posted by SLC Mom at 11:38 AM on December 31, 2011

The milk on a q-tip trick seems to be doing the job. It's diminished considerably.

Am soaking the q-tips in a shot glass of milk and giving things a swipe every couple minutes; it's already a lot better after about a half hour. I should be at a much more manageable level in another half hour.

And fortunately my roommate is taking a nap and has no idea.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:38 AM on December 31, 2011

Your roommate never reads AskMe?
posted by maudlin at 11:40 AM on December 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

she only knows about mefi because I've mentioned it a couple times; not a member.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:42 AM on December 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Did you know that capsaicin and capsaicin-like materials are the main component of some tear gases? So here is some hard-learned knowledge protestors around the world have gained about making the pain go away-- If it's still hurting, there is some good advice on making a Maalox solution here: How to defend yourself against tear gas.

Although I have to agree with SLC Mom: What's wrong with putting milk in a neti pot?
posted by seasparrow at 11:57 AM on December 31, 2011

What's wrong with milk in a neti pot?

Wouldn't that just flush it up into her sinuses and cause even more OH MY GOD MAKE IT STOP?


creme fraiche on a q-tip. do it for culinary science!
posted by elizardbits at 11:58 AM on December 31, 2011

(You should have this question anonymized and then buy your roomie a membership for the holidays.)
Sounds like you've got it worked out, but I wonder if the advice for field-treating pepper spray with an antacide solution would work?
posted by Mngo at 11:59 AM on December 31, 2011

I wasn't looking forward to cleaning milk residue OUT of the neti pot afterwards.

And I don't own Maalox -- only tums tablets. The milk-on-a-q-tip seems to have done the trick.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:05 PM on December 31, 2011

whip cream up your nose!
posted by katypickle at 12:05 PM on December 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Fat absorbs heat.

Sort of. Capsaicin is oily compound, so you need an oily/fatty solution to wash it out, which is why a snort of milk may have helped. Think about dealing with peppers like cleaning an oily pan -- you can absorb it (like wiping the pan with a paper towel -- similarly, why taking a bite out of naan or tortilla is soothing with spicy food), or you can wash it out (like soaping up the pan and then rinsing -- water alone just rolls off, which is why drinking water with spicy food gives you little relief, and mango lassi is heaven). Milk soaked q-tips sounds like a pretty good solution. Soap and water probably would have been just as effective, if not more. You will always burn from the initial exposure, and that will subside, but your goal is to remove as much capsaicin as you can so that you don't continue to be exposed.
posted by eddydamascene at 12:14 PM on December 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'd use a piece of tissue/kitchen roll to wipe the inside of each nostril with a little vegetable oil.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 12:16 PM on December 31, 2011

Glad to know you feel better now. For bad heat from chiles, I always feel like salt works really well, as it sort of slowly neutralizes the acid in the peppers. For example, for a bad case of a super hot salsa, I put lots of salt on a piece of lime or even directly on my tongue, and then swish the salt around my mouth for a while. For inside the nose, I guess a very saline solution either with neti pot or with q tips can help.

I think that getting heat on the nose is much better than what happened to my cousin: he was cutting up habaneros for salsa and when he finished he went to the bathroom. Didn't take long for the rest of his family to hear him screaming in pain!
posted by CrazyLemonade at 12:20 PM on December 31, 2011

What's wrong with milk in a neti pot?

All I'm saying is I know someone who got dairy products in their sinuses and had to go for a sinus flush when it started to go sour inside their head.

That alone scream as a bad idea to me.
posted by mephron at 11:38 PM on December 31, 2011 [1 favorite]