back to article Fear the Reaper: Man hospitalised after eating red hot chilli pepper

A man had to be taken to hospital after eating one of the world's hottest peppers in an eating contest, it has emerged. The 34-year-old was rushed to an emergency room in New York after developing "excruciating" pain from eating the Carolina Reaper, according to a report in the British Medical Journal this week. The chilli …

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  1. Oh Homer
    Pint

    Don't get it

    Love spicy food, in moderation, but really don't see the point in deliberately inducing pain, not even in competition. It's like a competition to see who has the most stupid.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Don't get it

      Speaking as both a runner and a chilli fiend: it's like a runner's high, without the hard slog. Addictive my precious addictive is.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Don't get it - It's like a competition to see who has the most stupid.

      But that's pretty much it. An awful lot of "sports" are basically just that, it's just that it gets called machismo rather than stupidity. I guess there was survival value back when losing a few males wasn't much of a problem, so whoever discovered that eating certain plants in quantity was fatal didn't do any real harm to reproductive rates.

      1. A Non e-mouse Silver badge

        Re: Don't get it - It's like a competition to see who has the most stupid.

        An awful lot of "sports" are basically just that..

        I've seen a couple of interviews with pro cyclists. They all say that professional cycling is all about pain endurance: Who can handle the pain the longest? I'd be surprised if many other endurance sports don't have similar characteristics.

        1. Aladdin Sane

          Re: Don't get it - It's like a competition to see who has the most stupid.

          Love is a burning thing

          And it makes a fiery ring.

          1. Scroticus Canis
            Holmes

            Re: "And it makes a fiery ring"

            Well it does come from the Puckerbutt Pepper Co. of South Carolina. No, honestly it does; and the guy who bred it is Ed Currie!

            (the icon is a reminder 'not to' without a bucket of ice cubes)

        2. Pen-y-gors

          Re: Don't get it - It's like a competition to see who has the most stupid.

          @A non e-mouse

          " Who can handle the pain the longest?"

          Wouldn't it make more sense to see who can handle extreme pleasure the longest? I'm thinking possibly Tantric sex here...

    3. CommanderGalaxian
      Mushroom

      Re: Don't get it

      It's when you begin to detach from reality and start hallucinating - that's when you'll understand.

    4. d3vy

      Re: Don't get it

      "Love spicy food, in moderation, but really don't see the point in deliberately inducing pain, not even in competition. It's like a competition to see who has the most stupid"

      This just about describes every visit I have ever made to an Indian restaurant with "the lads from sales" (in previous employment I was subjected to such horrors - now that I am a contractor I have a solid fool proof excuse *

      What is it in the human psyche that has some of us think that eating a hotter curry than someone else somehow makes you better? Especially when you are visibly NOT enjoying it.

      I like spicy food, but wouldn't partake on a night out... Its bad enough being hungover the next day without excreting molten lava too.

      * Participating in employee get togethers increases my exposure in the event of an IR35 investigation - This may or may not actually be true - but I'm not risking it!

    5. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Mushroom

      Re: Don't get it

      "It's like a competition to see who has the most stupid."

      Yep, some of these things are so hot now, it's akin to seeing who can consume the most arsenic without dying.

      Others have compared this to sport. Well no, not really. There's no skill involved.

  2. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse

    The Carolina reaper...

    I bought one last year at the annual Chilli festival at West Dean Gardens near Chichester. I can attest to it being the hottest thing I have ever had the misfortune of adding to a tomato sauce. Even a tiny bit made the whole meal inedible.

    1. macjules

      Re: The Carolina reaper...

      Me too, at the same festival. It made a soup rather ... interesting. You can get this from the amazing Chilli Pepper Pete shop.

      1. Andy The Hat Silver badge

        Re: The Carolina reaper...

        I deseeded about 30 Bih Jolokias (~1million SU), made as little contact with the seeds or fruit as possible (the seeds were for planting) and washed the Marigolds I was wearing three times before the bursting bubbles of the soap lather stopped hurting my eyes ... I then made a small batch of Whammo Hot Sauce (lll) with the fruit - it was a bit fiery but really good!

        1. handleoclast

          Re: The Carolina reaper...

          and washed the Marigolds I was wearing three times before the bursting bubbles of the soap lather stopped hurting my eyes

          I always remember my mother's advice: never masturbate after chopping chillies.

          Oh, and you're a wimp for removing the seeds.

        2. Mongrel
          Boffin

          Re: The Carolina reaper...

          "and washed the Marigolds I was wearing three times before the bursting bubbles of the soap lather stopped hurting my eyes"

          Rinse your hands\utensils with dilute bleach solution first as it breaks down the capsaicin to make it more water soluble and much easier to clean up.

          1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

            Re: The Carolina reaper...

            Rinse your hands\utensils with dilute bleach solution

            Or in full-fat milk. Capsacin is fat-soluble (which is why drinking lager to take away the burn is pointless - better to drink milk or lassi..)

    2. LeahroyNake

      Re: The Carolina reaper...

      I have a rather small jar of hot sauce with the main ingredient Carolina Reaper. I use it to spice up bolognaise, chilli and currys. If I'm feeling especially brave I have some on chips.

      My late brother gave it to me years ago, I have no idea where it came from but the memory always gives me a smile before I down a few pints of milk;)

    3. handleoclast

      Re: The Carolina reaper...

      Tesco were selling them last year (and I hope will sell them again this year when they come into season).

      Even a tiny bit made the whole meal inedible.

      I found that half of a large one, all of a medium-sized one, or two small ones added just the right amount of bang to a meal.

      That was just the right amount that, 30 minutes later, there was a very warm (but not quite fiery) sensation when I had a piss. More than that and it becomes painful to piss. Less than that and it's not hot enough in the mouth.

      YMMV.

      1. DrBobK

        Re: The Carolina reaper...

        I got some Carolina Reapers from Tesco's as well. Not nearly as evil as I'd imagined. I ate half of one raw (sliced into little bits, not eaten in one go) to see what it was like and it wasn't painful, just very, very hot. Nice fruity taste when chopped and cooked in homemade refried black beans. I may have developed a tolerance to chillis - been eating them very regularly for decades.

    4. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: The Carolina reaper...

      I saw what it did to Sergei and Yulia Skripal so I'm steering well clear of it!

      I do enjoy a very hot chilli or curry but it's always a fine line between hitting perfection or brewing up what can be best described as battery acid.

      Having ridden the wave, soaked T-shirts in sweat, even done the 'should have washed my hands' thing, I have no inclination to enter any hottest chilli contest. At my age I have no desire to re-enact the 'Alien' or 'Scanners' scenes.

      1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: The Carolina reaper...

        At my age I have no desire to re-enact the 'Alien' or 'Scanners' scenes

        But the chilli might have a role in migraine treatment.. (one of the 'features' of migraines is that the pain is often caused by heavily-dilated blood vessels in and around the brain. My current migraine medication is a vasoconstrictor[1] so maybe chilli could be used instead and won't make me nauseous like the sumatriptan..)

        Actually, on second thoughts, I'll stick with the sumatriptan. I enjoy mild-to-warm curries but can't see the point of really hot ones. If you are not used to them, you won't taste anything because your taste buds get nuked by the capsacin and, if you are used to that level of heat, you won't really notice how hot it is.

        [1] Which also turns out to be useful in delaying and prolonging the effects of alcohol on the brain. Who knew?

    5. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
      Mushroom

      Re: The Carolina reaper...

      Along the A27 from Chichester in Portsmouth are "Thousand Hills"...

      They have a set of 4 Carolina Reaper products made from their own grown chilies.

      I've not sampled those, but slowly going through a jar of "On Respirators", so it will be a while before I try the Carolina Reapers

    6. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: The Carolina reaper...

      I can recomend that festival too, and the 1000 island guys

      Whatever happens, dont try the stand that sells satan's s**t

      you will regret it.

      I did

  3. Zog_but_not_the_first
    Mushroom

    Not the worst of it

    Hellish symptoms from the chilli going in, but...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not the worst of it

      .... and remember if you need to use the toilet while preparing a meal with chillis then the "now wash your hands" instruction needs to be acted on first (as I once discovered the painful way!)

      1. Arthur the cat Silver badge

        Re: Not the worst of it

        ... and remember if you need to use the toilet while preparing a meal with chillis then the "now wash your hands" instruction needs to be acted on first

        Ditto if you need to clean a contact lens (also discovered the hard way).

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Not the worst of it

        the "now wash your hands" instruction needs to be acted on first

        I've never found soap and water are terribly effective in properly removing residual capsaicin, and the hottest things I handle are supermarket sourced scotch bonnets, probably around a mere 200,000 Scoville.

        1. Rugster

          Re: Not the worst of it

          Wash your hands with cooking oil first. binds to the capsaicin and then washes off. I made the mistake of rubbing my eyes and shortly after making a bathroom visit some years ago whilst learning what not to do. Not a mistake to make more than once.

          And to all the people slating the heat, it's not like that once you are used to it, tolerance increases with exposure and the nice heat you get from ever increasing strength is glorious.

          1. Terry 6 Silver badge
            Mushroom

            Re: Not the worst of it

            Oh dear. yes. a few years back having pizza at one of those places that has a pot of dried chillies on the table. And at some point I needed a wee. And made the awful error of not remembering to wash hands first. Ouch.

            As an undergrad at Bradford Uni a good curry meant "burnt at both ends". But as noted with the YMMV, when, in my second year I had a curry with some Birmingham students on a visit I made there they kept boasting/warning me how hot their curries were. I found mine surprisingly mild so I spooned some chilli powder on. Then I noticed that the table had gone silent. They were all staring at me, blowing through their mouths and making panting noises, while turning red.

            In Bradford we often got these "macho" types of visitor who announced they could eat the hottest curry there was. We always tried to discourage them, genuinely. Telling them to go for something mild. But usually we failed. (Though sometimes, if the were really obnoxiously boastful about what they thought they could take, we'd deliberately start to make it sound like a challenge.) And enjoyed the fun. To put that in context; in my first term I did the inevitable visit to the campus GP, who had a stack of prescriptions ready written, followed by a visit to the chemist shop, who had a large box of brown bottles (Kaolin I think) ready....

            Icon appropriated for this topic....

            1. ZippedyDooDah

              Re: Not the worst of it

              You remind me of my student days in Manchester 1979/1982.

              In Rusholme in Manchester, there was a very cheap curry house called "The Palace" . It served a curry called "The Killer". It tasted delicious and lived up to it's name as half way through it became very unpleasant.

              AFIK, in later years came the "Suicide". I can't find any evidence that it still exists. Must be burnt out.

            2. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

              Re: Not the worst of it

              "macho" types of visitor who announced they could eat the hottest curry there was

              When that happens I'm always reminding of the Goodness Gracious Me sketch where they go out for "An English" and daringly ask for "the blandest thing on the menu"..

              Kaolin I think

              Probably Kaolin and morphine. The kaolin (being basically calcium carbonate) helps neutralise excess acid (and helps err.. solidify the gut contents) and the morphine smooths out spasmodic gut reactions. Sadly, not a lot of chemists carry it these days because it's got that eeevvviiillll morphine in it.

      3. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not the worst of it

      Actually, fresh superhot chillis don't hurt on their way out - chilli powder is much worse for that because it contains far less pure capsaicin (which metabolises quickly).

      1. Korev Silver badge
        Mushroom

        Re: Not the worst of it

        I find it's the other way round. If the heat is from sauces or powder then it's no problem on the way out; anything with chunks of real chilli can get a bit "Chuck Berry"

        1. Andy The Hat Silver badge

          Re: Not the worst of it

          I would agree with that - day after the fresh chilli massala night before :-)

          1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

            Re: Not the worst of it

            day after the fresh chilli massala night before

            And freezing leftover curry just makes it get hotter.. in my experience anyway.

            Hungry now. And some of the developers near me tend to bring in their own lunch and it's usually something curried. Most unfair.

        2. Zog_but_not_the_first
          Joke

          Re: Not the worst of it

          " anything with chunks of real chilli can get a bit "Chuck Berry""

          Johnny Cash Shirley?

          1. Korev Silver badge
            Pint

            Re: Not the worst of it

            " anything with chunks of real chilli can get a bit "Chuck Berry""

            Johnny Cash Shirley?

            Yes, you're correct

            A virtual pint for you -->

        3. Steve K

          Re: Not the worst of it

          Yes, beware the Marmite laser!!

  4. lglethal Silver badge
    Trollface

    Like Moths to a flame...

    "Dragon's Breath was created by a farmer for the Chelsea Flower show and is so potent that it had to be kept in a sealed container when it went on display."

    It had to be kept in a sealed container primarily because otherwise some Chav would try to prove their manliness by eating the darn thing and the farmer doesnt want to be sued for the damage it does to them...

    1. Grikath

      Re: Like Moths to a flame...

      How can the farmer get sued, if someone *stole* it, and ate the evidence?

      Darwin Award material? Possibly. Something that would stand up in court (outside, of course, the US....) ? Not a chance in hell.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Like Moths to a flame...

        Darwin Award material? Possibly. Something that would stand up in court (outside, of course, the US....) ? Not a chance in hell.

        I dont know.... These days unless you make things difficult to steal then you have not been diligent enough in protecting people from their own stupidity....

        Not forgetting that a 70 something year old pensioner ended up arrested for murder and bailed pending further enquiries after he stabbed a bugler with his own screwdriver when attacked by said thieving cu*t who then died in the street where his accomplices dumped him while they made their own get away.

        fortunately they seen sense and was advised later that he would face no charges.... they should pin a meddle on him...

        but its not quite as bad as in America, where a man in new york was walking around pointing what looked like a gun at people. it was reported by several people that a man was walking around pointing a gun... when the police arrived on scene and the man took up a pose like someone taking aim to shoot, he was shot and killed. It turned out he was pointing a metal welding gun.....

        it all kicked off with the locals calling it a racist and unlawful killing, and one report I read said the police involved in the shooting had to be seen to in hospital for minor injuries...

        its a crazy world we live in where we have to protect the stupid from themselves, or its our fault when they hurt themselves or others....

        1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge

          Re: Like Moths to a flame...

          "How can the farmer get sued, if someone *stole* it,"

          Arnt there tales of burglars suing the homeowners for unsafe windows and rooftops ... hazards in the garden etc? or are they urban myths?

        2. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

          Re: Like Moths to a flame...

          you have not been diligent enough in protecting people from their own stupidity

          My dad was an industrial pharmacist and worked on trying to make a temazipam preparation that couldn't be abused by addicts (who were in the habit of injecting the capsules liquid contents).

          They tried formulating it as a high molecular-weight gel that couldn't be sucked up through a needle. Initially, it was a success until the addicts realised that. if they heated the gel, it became liquid.

          Queue a series of addicts with potential gangrene in their arms because, as soon as the gel cooled in their veins, it would solidify again, blocking the blood vessel. Seems the team underestimated that cleverness and lack of common sense of people wanting their fix.

          The product was withdrawn ASAP.

  5. ARGO

    Missing an important fact...

    ...did he win the competition?

    1. d3vy

      Re: Missing an important fact...

      Given the symptoms described I wouldnt call it a win...

  6. chivo243 Silver badge
    Windows

    In my youth

    I loved everything spicy. I couldn't get enough. Now in my mid to sunset years, I've come to appreciate aromatic hot flavors, not just HEAT, getting older is hell...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: In my youth

      Evaporated milk mate, about half a can will neutralise it in the stomach and dissolve the capsaicin oil in the mouth. Quickest fix there is, apart from rinsing your mouth with not-scalding-temperature hot water, which displaces the capsaicin "oil". Kidneys stopped coping with Ghost Nagas in my 50's - like peeing lava.

      1. kain preacher

        Re: In my youth

        Actaully ice cream is the best as it has sugar and milk.

        1. Charles 9

          Re: In my youth

          To deal with capsaicin, you need either fats or alcohol. It's not water-solubule. Ice cream's a good idea not really for the sugar but for the fat content. The cheese is a good move, too. Cream cheese should hit the spot because it's only semi-solid. A good creamy dip or dressing (like Ranch) should be fatty enough to take the edge off. And using mouthwash is handy for a quick fix in the mouth (because of its alcohol content).

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