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Medical Forum / General / Vision / January 2006hot peppers and taking out contacts
Anyone: I was making chili tonight and chopped chili peppers. I then cleaned my hands well. When it came time to take out my contacts my fingers caused my eyes to burn a little an tear. I guess the pepper was somehow on my fingers even after using Joy liquid and then soap a few times. I took out my contacts and put it in no rub solution to soak overnight. Is it possible my contacts will be ruined or will the solution just clean them up? Thanks Stew > Anyone: > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Stew I can't answer your question, but I do know that the hot oils in peppers are not water soluble. In addition, I believe that Joy is well known for leaving hands soft, and not for its cleaning ability. > Anyone: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Is it possible my contacts will be ruined or will the solution just > clean them up? Your contacts (this applies to soft lenses) may need to be cleaned with an alcohol-based cleaner such as Miraflow. You'll know if your "no rub" solution did the job when you put the lenses back in, eh? Meanwhile, for future chili cooking times, wash your hands with whole milk or cream and then liquid dishwashing detergent. Really. LB, O.D. > I took out my contacts and put it in no rub solution to soak overnight. > Is it possible my contacts will be ruined or will the solution just > clean them up? Capsaicin is oil-soluble so it doesn't "soak into" the lenses very much. OTOH, "no-rub" solutions aren't very strong detergents and aren't likely to remove it very well. I wouldn't try the contacts without using a strong surfactant cleaner like Pliagel. Make sure you don't have any important appointments in the morning. Even if it burns a lot, it probably won't do real harm. If disaster happens, a drop or two of fresh cold milk, directly in the eye, will give some relief. But you didn't hear that from me. :) -MT If your contacts are inexpensive it might just be less trouble to throw em out and use fresh new ones. My mom and sister change their contacts twice a month as supposed to. thanks, but the contacts are yearly ones due to my compicated prescription. Is there any one who knows the answer? Thanks Stew No, we cannot answer your question specifically though I can say I know how that feels. Cut a bunch of habanero peppers once. Washed 4-5 times, waited a day and a half and still burnt the hell out of my eyes when I rubbed them a bit. Habaneros are evil, but oh so tasty! As for the peppers in your case, the capsaicin is what makes them hot and that is what we need to worry about. It is not water soluable, which is why the heat sticks with you even when you drink water. Well actually that isn't the only reason, the other is that it physically binds to your tastebuds for a time causing you to do the hot mouth dance.. But I digress. The chemical is fat (hence the milk suggestion) and alcohol soluable. This means they can stick to plastic surfaces, but since contacts are not made out of commercial plastics but a specific blend of cool stuff I dont think anyone here knows (or wants to experiment with) the soluablility of capsaicin in contacts. The best advice I can think of is what larrydoc stated, use some alcohol based cleaner if your lenses can use it. The alcohol should combine with the capsaicin and at least reduce the amount of pain you will go through to a neglible amount. Vodka on the hands also works to get the the heat off them. If you want to cut habaneros (or other peppers) up in the future, I STRONGLY suggest using latex gloves. Feels kinda silly to do it, but otherwise you are wasting a bunch of milk or vodka and then look really silly :) Scot > thanks, but the contacts are yearly ones due to my compicated > prescription. Is there any one who knows the answer? Yes, you've gotten good answers at least twice - clean them with Miraflow or Pliagel and hope for the best. -MT > > thanks, but the contacts are yearly ones due to my compicated > > prescription. Is there any one who knows the answer? > > Yes, you've gotten good answers at least twice - clean them with Miraflow or > Pliagel and hope for the best. Scary! -- how much does that stuff cost per milliliter? Well, I guess there is no chance of reproducing it on the kitchen counter ... Reason I ask is that some eye drops that were prescribed for me cost $78 for 3 milliliters (Vigamox). When I remarked about it, the doctor mumbled "stuff for the eyes is expensive!" and ran out, in a hurry to catch his flight to Maui. -- Dicky Miraflow is not expensive - I paid around 7 dollars US for 20 ml of the extra strength daily cleaner. I have no idea what vigamox is. Stew > Miraflow is not expensive - I paid around 7 dollars US for 20 ml of the > extra strength daily cleaner. Only $1325.00 per gallon. If you knew what was in it, you could probably make it yourself for less that $1.00 per gallon, or use some ordinary stuff. The aftermarket potential for contact lenses is incredible, and nowhere near full appreciation yet. > I have no idea what vigamox is. It is an antibiotic solution. Case of me, it was to be used prophylactically before and after eye surgery. It is an esoteric antibiotic. Probably an ordinary antibiotic would do as well. But, considering the mark-up, that would lead only to infinitesimal cost advantage, and would not have any of the same "Wow!" value. Probably prophylactic use of antibiotics in eyes is superfluous in the first place as eyes do marvelously well all by themselves when it comes to fending off infection. All kinds of sh.t flies into your eyes, especially when there's a bit of wind. Of course, I do not know what goes on under and in contact lenses. Fortunately, I will most likely never need to find out. -- Dicky >>Miraflow is not expensive - I paid around 7 dollars US for 20 ml of the >>extra strength daily cleaner. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > If you knew what was in it, you could probably make it yourself for > less that $1.00 per gallon, or use some ordinary stuff. I suppose what you're paying for is not so much the bulk solution but rather the individual packaging, the freight, the assurance of sterility, the assurance of the correct formula, the assurance of safety and efficacy thanks to the clinical trials; the marketing, the shopping mall rents at your convenient local mall, and the knowledgable product advice you receive from the place of purchase. All of these would cost more than the marginal cost of a few mls of solution. Dom > > Miraflow (lens cleaner) ... Only $1325.00 per gallon ... > I suppose what you're paying for is not so much the bulk solution but > rather the individual packaging, the freight, the assurance of [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > advice you receive from the place of purchase. All of these would cost > more than the marginal cost of a few mls of solution. What we are paying for is the world's most expensive "health-care" system -- in part, if not largely, executives, stockholders, overcompensated middle men, etc., etc., and, lastly (but not leastly) the costs of getting ourselves professionally bullshitted to the degree that we have no inkling of the extent to which we are being gouged. -- Dicky > What we are paying for is the world's most expensive "health-care" > system -- [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > extent > to which we are being gouged. My personal peeve is that the uninsured are required to finance the HUGE discounts given to third-party payors. -MT > > Miraflow is not expensive - I paid around 7 dollars US for 20 ml of the > > extra strength daily cleaner. > > Only $1325.00 per gallon. My daughter wanted saffron for Christmas. She asked for 1,000 pounds. That would have been about US$2,000,000. I got her a gram. According to my recipe for saffron rice, that works out to about US$.10 per serving for the cost of the saffron.  SignatureDan Abel dabel@sonic.net Petaluma, California, USA >> Yes, you've gotten good answers at least twice - clean them with Miraflow >> or >> Pliagel and hope for the best. > Scary! -- how much does that stuff cost per milliliter? Prescription drugs like Vigamox are indeed expensive; I can cite more examples. But Pliagel and Miraflow are off-the-shelf contact lens cleaners, which are merely outrageous, not astonishing. > $78 for 3 milliliters (Vigamox). When I remarked about it, the > doctor mumbled "stuff for the eyes is expensive!" and ran out, > in a hurry to catch his flight to Maui. I hope he and the pharmacist and the CEOs have a good time. I can't afford Six Flags. -MT > > Yes, you've gotten good answers at least twice - clean them with Miraflow > > or > Scary! -- how much does that stuff cost per milliliter? About US$.35, but it should last more than a week, if you clean both lenses daily. My last purchase was a a two-pack of 20ml bottles. SignatureDan Abel dabel@sonic.net Petaluma, California, USA > thanks, but the contacts are yearly ones due to my compicated > prescription. Is there any one who knows the answer? I'm no expert, but this has happened to me. If it's late in the day, I'll take out my contacts *before* cutting the peppers. If I don't, even after several hand washings, there's some burning. I use an alcohol based cleaner (Miraflow), and have never had a problem the next day. It was just my fingers that caused the burning, and it didn't transfer to the contacts (or the cleaner washed it off). SignatureDan Abel dabel@sonic.net Petaluma, California, USA Dan: Believe it or not I cleaned my contacts and I still had burning. I think my fingers still has the stuff on it after so many washings and I later had inflamation of my eye membranes. Anyway I did the rubbing alcohol thing with my hands and rinsed/cleaned/rinsed/cleaned my contacts. I am hestitant to put these things in and I did order new ones anyway. Your email is encouraging and I might try them tonight since it has been a few days and my eyes feel alot better. Stew > Anyone: > > I was making chili tonight and chopped chili peppers. I then cleaned my > hands well. Better late than never. In future just use disposable handgloves when you are using peppers. The sap of the peppers stays in the skin for a few days to a week and irritates the eye each moment you touch the eyes. Hope this helps |
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