An instant cure for pepper spray exposure
Posted by WhiteCoat on August 17, 2007
The most interesting patient so far today had pepper spray sprayed into his ear. He said his girlfriend just got a can and “was just itching to use it on me.” Of course that begs the question of why he was still dating this woman, but that is another story.
So the patient came in writhing in pain holding his ear. We used some anesthetic ear drops with minor relief. I said that I had to call the police to report the assault. He immediately stopped writhing and told me not to call the police. Why?? Because the police gave his girlfriend the pepper spray to use against him in case he came after her. He didn’t really go after her, she just thought he was cheating on her and she got mad. I told him that we were required to report all potential crimes and walked out of the room. When I returned, the patient and the ear drops were gone. Phone calls to the police – the miracle cure.
From my research, pepper spray exposure should be gently washed with soap and irrigated thoroughly. Rubbing the area vigorously will cause more irritation and worsen the symptoms. I have also heard anectdotal reports that some pepper sprays are acidic-based and that vinegar or tomato juice will help relieve the symptoms. One police officer also told me that yogurt applied to the area of exposure helps relieve the symptoms. Obviously none of these should go in the eyes. Any more home remedies?
Surgeon in my Dreams said
When I was a police officer, we had to be sprayed in order to be certified to carry pepper spray. We used buckets of ice and water with towels and DAWN dish detergent……mosly though it just takes time.
Being the only female on my shift, you can understand how eveyone got a kick out of seeing me get sprayed with my hair piled up under a shower cap.
One thing you might want to warn them which NO ONE warned me about….when you go home and shower after being sprayed, if it is in your hair at all, like the few bangs that might stick out under a shower cap, it WILL rinse right back down into your eyes and there you’ll be “butt nekkid”, alone, slot slinging and bawling!!
I am sure glad they didn’t require we be shot with those S&W 40’s in order to be certified with them!!!
Surgeon in my Dreams said
PS…I’m sorry, I should have made it clear, the DAWN did go directly into our eyes, and it felt GOOD!
Imagine how bad the pepper spray is that it causes soap on your eyeballs to feel good!
Michael said
Good to know, not that I am planning on getting pepper sprayed anytime soon.
JeffBro said
When I worked on the ambulance in the inner city, we used guaze sponges soaked with regular Coca-Cola to remove pepper spray from the patient. Something about the acid in the Coke breaks the lipid chain of the spray (I’m sure the organic chemists have a better, more scientific explanation.)
Nice blog, by the way. I’m impressed.
Michael said
well ima try somthing cuz i just got hired at a private prison n we had to get sprayed and GOOD GOD it hurt n burned so bad and thats because tha shit was expired since 1996 and what also sux is i was the first one to get it done. i hope i never get it done again unless my wife uses it on me so now i really gotta keep her happy ha ha
sorryicookedwithpeppers said
I was making frijoles charros (cowboy beans) and put some frozen slices of jalepenos in the pot, the steam from them thawing went up my nose and in my eyes–WOW! It was a tingling seasation! Well it got worse and worse and the next day I couldn’t stand it anymore. After tons of internet research–unfortunately I didn’t think of pepper spray–so I was looking at sites for washing the peppers off of your hands. Among the other treatments: baking soda, alcohol, coffee grinds and dawn, I saw milk mentioned and figured that was the only safe option to put IN MY EYES. It worked! I had to reapply 5 or 6 times but finally 36 hours after my exposure my eyes felt almost normal–they are still tingling. I can imagine that it would be horrible to have the spray actually sprayed in there.