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It is not uncommon to suffer from burns after having cut hot peppers, capsicums or chilly. The capsaicin present in these vegetables causes the burns and thus it is extremely important to take adequate care while cutting them to avoid getting burnt. You should always wear rubber gloves while you are handling hot peppers.
Latex gloves do not do the trick, however, since the capsaicin can seep through the latex burning your skin through the gloves. If however you do burn your hands, the first thing to do is to get the capsaicin off your hands by washing them immediately with cold water. The cold water will help to soothe the burning sensation, but it isn't enough to remove the capsaicin.
You should wash your hands using some soap, shampoo or even detergent to get rid of the capsaicin. Dishwashing soap is very effective in removing the capsaicin, so you should consider using that. You can continue to soak your hands in icy cold water or a bowl with ice cubes to soothe the burning sensation.
Apart from cold water and ice, you can use several other simple home remedies to treat burns from hot peppers. Since capsaicin is fat soluble you can apply an oily substance such as moisturizing cream, petroleum jelly or even vegetable oil on the burns to stop the burn from aggravating and keep your skin from getting abrasive as the burnt skin heals. Soaking your hands in a bowl of cold milk or fresh cream that has been refrigerated can also do the trick. After soaking your hands in ice water you can rub some baking soda on them. This will help to provide relief from the continuing burning sensation. Alternately you can rub some flour on your hands to heal the burns. Another quick way to heal the burns is rubbing some juice of freshly cut lemon on your hands. This will cut through the capsaicin and help to heal the burns faster. Another remedy involves tomatoes. You dilute some fresh tomato pulp by adding warm water to it and then add some cooking oil to this and cool the mixture. Soaking your hands in this cold water for an hour is beneficial in treating burns from hot peppers. This will cut through the capsaicin preventing the burn from aggravating and also soothe the burning sensation. If the burns persist, then it might be a good idea to consult a doctor for further treatment.
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