Jalapeño In Eye? Here’s What You Do

If you cook with hot peppers, sooner or later it happens. You slice a few jalapeños, forget about the juice on your fingers, rub your eye, and suddenly it’s burning, streaming and squeezing itself shut. Your first instinct may be to grab the milk. Head for the sink instead. Tested against water on pepper burns, milk did no better, and the faucet is right there. Rinse with plenty of cool or lukewarm water for at least 15 minutes, keep your hands off your eye, and take out your contacts. The capsaicin in a jalapeño makes for a miserable few minutes, but the sting usually fades once the pepper is washed out.

A quick word first: we know chili peppers, but we’re not eye doctors. If your eye still hurts after rinsing, or your vision seems off, have a doctor look at it instead of waiting it out.

What to do if you get jalapeño in your eye

Move fast, since the sooner you start rinsing, the sooner the burning starts to ease.

1. Hands off. Rubbing pushes the pepper oil around your eye and onto your eyelids.
2. Wash your hands. If there is still pepper on your fingers, scrub them with soap and water before they go anywhere near your face again. Our post on hands burning from peppers covers the rest.
3. Contacts out. Wearing them? Take them out, and throw them away afterward, even reusable ones.
4. Flush with water. Hold your eye open under a gentle stream of cool or lukewarm tap water, or pour it in from a clean glass, and keep going for at least 15 minutes. Sterile saline works, too, but skip hot water.
5. Cool it down. Once you’re done rinsing, a clean, cool, damp cloth over your closed eye can ease what’s left of the sting.

Did pepper get on your eyelids or the skin around your eye? Once the rinse is done, gently wash that area with a little baby shampoo and water, keeping the shampoo out of the eye itself.

How long does jalapeño in the eye burn?

Usually a short while once it is rinsed out. The burn from capsaicin tends to fade within half an hour or so of cleanup, though it can hang on for a few hours, and some redness and watering may linger after that.

Lasting damage is uncommon. In one study of people exposed to pepper spray during police training, pain and blurry vision were much better within an hour. In a second study, the small spots of damage on the surface of the eye healed within a day.

Does milk work better than water?

Milk is the go-to fix in a lot of kitchens, and for a burning mouth it earns that reputation. Penn State’s tests ranked it near the top for cooling the burn, and since skim milk worked about as well as full-fat milk, the researchers suspect the protein in milk matters more than the fat. They haven’t confirmed how it works yet. Our guide to treating chili burn covers the mouth side.

For eyes, the case for milk is weaker. In a study of people sprayed in the face with pepper spray, everyone rinsed with water first, then got one of five treatments, milk and more water among them. Milk eased the burn no better than water, and the pain faded with time whatever they used. That study measured the burn on the skin, not in the eyes, and we haven’t found one that tests milk in the eye. Eye doctors say to start with water, because milk isn’t sterile.

Does water make the burn worse?

So why do people say to avoid it? You may hear that water only spreads capsaicin around, and it is true that capsaicin barely dissolves in water. But a steady stream still rinses it out of your eye, and eye doctors recommend water first for pepper in the eye. What spreads the oil is rubbing, which is one more reason to keep your hands away.

When should you see a doctor?

When is it more than a rough few minutes? Get medical care if any of these happen:

• Your eye still hurts, or stays red, swollen or teary, an hour after you started rinsing.
• Your vision is blurry or seems different once you’re done rinsing.
• Light hurts your eyes, or you get a headache.
• The pain is severe. In that case, go right away.

In the U.S., you can also call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 for advice at any hour.

How to keep pepper out of your eyes

Want to avoid a repeat? A few habits keep pepper out of your eyes:

• Wear gloves. Rubber, latex or nitrile gloves keep the capsaicin off your hands, and they remind you to keep your hands away from your face while you work.
• Wash up anyway. Scrub your hands with soap and water when you’re done, even after wearing gloves.
• Handle contacts first. Put them in or take them out before you start chopping.
• Respect the milder peppers. Banana peppers and poblanos carry far less capsaicin than a jalapeño, but they still have some, mostly in the white ribs inside.
• Add eye protection for the hottest ones. If you’re cutting habaneros or superhots like the ghost pepper, a pair of safety glasses adds a barrier.

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Related reading

• How To Build Your Spicy Food Tolerance: How to work your way up the Scoville scale without wrecking dinner.
• Jalapeños Not Spicy?: Why some jalapeños barely burn and others knock you over.
• Cooking With Jalapeño Peppers: How to prep, tame and cook them, gloves included.