Just a hunka hunka burning thumb

August 11, 2015 12:02 PM

Last night I cooked with jalapenos. I washed my hands really well, but some oil seems to have gotten under my thumbnail, down where the nail separates from the bed. (If I look through my nail, I can see a tiny red line of inflammation there, in addition to feeling the burn.) Despite having dulled overnight, this is still extremely distracting and uncomfortable. How can I get down under there and fix this? Extra level of difficulty: because we mostly cook vegan food, I have no dairy products in my kitchen.
posted by ocherdraco to Grab Bag (17 answers total)

YMMV, but I've had good luck alleviating chile-pepper burn with apple cider vinegar.
posted by aecorwin at 12:10 PM on August 11, 2015

Best answer: Since it's an oil, you can dilute the capsaicin with any cooking oil. I'd stick my thumb in a bit of olive oil for a while and try to rub it under the nail as much as you can. Then try washing the whole greasy mess away with soap.
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:11 PM on August 11, 2015 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Seconding oil, plus a nail-brush. Capsaicin is also soluble in alcohol, so consider trying rubbing alcohol or any high-proof booze you have around. It's not water-soluble, so I don't have confidence in the cider vinegar, but I don't know what acid does to the stuff, so my opinion on that is low-trust.
posted by Sunburnt at 12:17 PM on August 11, 2015 [2 favorites]

Do you have any neosporin? The pain relief version obviously works better, but I have done a similar thing with the plain kind and got pretty good relief. (There may be an oil factor in that as well, since I think the base is petrolatum).
posted by Lyn Never at 12:18 PM on August 11, 2015

Response by poster: I have plenty of oil. I don't have a nailbrush, but I do have a toothbrush I could sacrifice to the effort. That should be sufficient, yes?
posted by ocherdraco at 12:20 PM on August 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Yes, that should work.
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:21 PM on August 11, 2015

This happened to me a couple of months ago, just from cutting up a really mild poblano that didn't taste hot at all.

Somewhere I read that you're supposed to, contrary to intuition, run your hands under very hot water for as long as you can stand it. Thankfully the capsaicin had mostly worn off by the time I read that, so I didn't have to try it. I imagine it feels much worse before it begins to feel better. If in fact it does begin to feel better, if it doesn't just go on feeling much much worse. I'd try everything else first before experimenting with hot water.

In addition to hot water I read:
-detergent
-Gojo
-oil
-lemon juice
-calamine lotion
-paste of baking soda followed by lemon juice or other acidic thing
posted by Don Pepino at 12:27 PM on August 11, 2015

Response by poster: Oil + toothbrush seemed to help, although the burning's not completely gone. I think it's just too deep in there.
posted by ocherdraco at 2:02 PM on August 11, 2015

Bactine has worked for me when I did this, more than any food product.
posted by dilaudid at 4:43 PM on August 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

When I did this making sixty jalapeno poppers, plain sorbolene moisturiser was the most effective thing by far, to my surprise.
posted by smoke at 4:55 PM on August 11, 2015

Only thing that worked for me was alcohol (in the form of one of those wipes you use to clean glasses) and acetone (nail polish remover).
posted by yasaman at 5:13 PM on August 11, 2015

Capsaicin is only soluble in fat or alcohol. Water-based methods (this includes vinegar) will work eventually (universal solvent what), and aren't worth the effort. This is why drinking water after eating a hot pepper will do actually nothing whatsoever.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 6:09 PM on August 11, 2015

Sewing machine oil? It's less viscous than cooking oil. Or other home handyman type solvents (read the label carefully before scrubbing it into your skin though).
posted by kjs4 at 6:27 PM on August 11, 2015

Do you have any chewable-type antacids in your home? Try dissolving one in water (might take some crushing/mashing) to make a slightly runny paste and soaking your fingers in that. I've used Gaviscon with much success that way in the past... I have a habit of cutting jalapeños for pickling (usually 40+ at a time...) and so have some experience with the burning. Possibly pepto bismol would also work.
posted by urbanlenny at 6:48 PM on August 11, 2015

This happened to me last weekend. Mrs. Glaucon and I have a large liquor cabinet we don't ever dig into unless we have a party and guests want it.

I poured Maker's Mark and crappy Vodka on my fingers, rubbed them with a paper towel and then washed them seven times, and that worked.

Washing alone did not work.

Scrubbing with olive oil did not work.

Hard alcohol worked.
posted by glaucon at 7:19 PM on August 11, 2015 [2 favorites]

Soak your fingers in black coffee. No, it doesn't have to be hot. In the future, use coffee grounds to wash your hands with. Good luck!!
posted by Yellow at 5:49 AM on August 12, 2015

Response by poster: I did a second round of veg oil + toothbrush, and now it has completely dispersed! Thanks, everyone.
posted by ocherdraco at 1:58 PM on August 12, 2015 [1 favorite]