Capsaicin Tested On Surgical Wounds 227
Ponca City, We Love You writes "Bite a hot pepper, and after the burn your tongue goes numb. The Baltimore Sun reports that Capsaicin, the chemical that gives chili peppers their fire, is being dripped directly into open wounds during highly painful operations, bathing surgically exposed nerves in a high enough dose to numb them for weeks. As a result patients suffer less pain and require fewer narcotic painkillers as they heal. 'We wanted to exploit this numbness,' says Dr. Eske Aasvang, a pain specialist who is testing the substance. Capsaicin works by binding to C fibers called TRPV1, the nerve endings responsible for long-lasting aching and throbbing pain. Experiments are under way involving several hundred patients undergoing various surgeries, including knee and hip replacements using an ultra-purified version of Capsaicin to avoid infection. Volunteers are under anesthesia so they don't feel the initial burn."
Lasik (Score:2, Funny)
Jalapenos (Score:5, Funny)
~S
Re:Jalapenos (Score:5, Funny)
That's an effect of the Goatsaicin.
Re:Jalapenos (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Jalapenos (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
~S
Re:Jalapenos (Score:5, Funny)
Actually this is not true. It is the Capsicain Oil that makes a pepper hot and not the 'juice' (which I take it you mean the watery part of a pepper). The saying that 'hurts going in hurts going out' (referring to going poopy) is pretty much true. But if you eat as much pepper extract as I do it hurts when you pee as well. I admit I take it to the extreme. I use Mad Dog 357 Collector's edition sauce with a 650,000 scoville rating at least 2 or 3 days a week (all meals for those days) and often poor WAY too much in it and think to myself..what the fuck did i just do?! However, even after the wonderfull pain I end up adding even more.
1 lb of hamburger meat
1.5 packets of Ortega Taco seasoning
1 full teaspoon of Mad Dog 357 Collector's edition
Cook, eat and get ready for some insane heat and one of the most painful tinkles you ever dreamed of. =) Damn I love it HOT!!!
Re:Jalapenos (Score:4, Funny)
I'd mod this up but there is no +1 Masochist
Re:Jalapenos (Score:4, Informative)
"Capsaicin (pronounced cap-SAY-iss-in) is a powerful chemical present in hot peppers that irritates certain nerves in the human nose and mouth. It is most highly concentrated in a hot pepper's central membrane, which holds the seeds."
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE3DD1E39F93BA35752C1A96F948260 [nytimes.com]
"The hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin it contains, most of it concentrated in the membrane or rib. Removing both this membrane and the seeds can significantly reduce the overall heat level"
http://www.sallys-place.com/food/columns/ferray_fiszer/peppers.htm [sallys-place.com]
Re:Jalapenos (Score:4, Funny)
"I've got man over here in serious pain...I need two chalupas STAT, with FIRE Sauce!!!
Speaking of...why doesn't taco bell every bring back the 'Wild' Sauce they used to wheel out every summer or so awhile back. That stuff actually had a bit of 'kick' to it......
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
It was cheaper and faster to switch to prepackaged sauce versus the warmed-up sauce in the back (which frankly tasted better... not that Taco Bell is "good"). The preparers don't have to manage the sauce in the back any more and can crank out however many items they need faster.
Eliminating the old-style green sauce is what stopped my parents going to Taco Bell.
-l
Re: (Score:2)
Great, first post in a thread and we're already at toilet humor.
Hemorrhoid surgery (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
I wonder if they had to correct the study for those volunteers who liked hot, spicy food. I know my tolerance for heat goes up the more frquently I have hot food. I could see going in for surgery and have the doctor try this and it doesn't work unless they
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Sidenote: A lot of pepper spray is rated at 2 million, but some tests I've seen rate that down to about 200,000. Of course, it's still a big dose of it in your eye compared to eating it.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Was it necessary for you to mention this? Now all of /. will know there are some ignorant people posting on here.............
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Unless you eat with a gaping wound someplace on your body... But then you are just freaky.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Seriously. Drink a nice glass of milk if you want to get rid of the burning. Water does not help. Milk does (due to the fat). Drinking pure olive oil should also help (but taste like shit:).
Capsaicin is soluble in oil, not water, or something.
Volunteers (Score:3, Funny)
But I like the fiery feeling in my cuts, you insensitive clods!
Or am I the one who is insensitive, now that my nerves are numb?
Re: (Score:2)
But I like the fiery feeling in my cuts ...
Yes, but I hate the feeling of being in unanaesthetized burns, you insensitive clod!
Re:Volunteers (Score:5, Informative)
anesthetic prevents horrible pain (Score:4, Informative)
Re:anesthetic prevents horrible pain (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
In other news worlds hottest pepper "discovered" (Score:5, Informative)
The hottest pepper record [kuro5hin.org] has been broken.
In the Scoville Organoleptic Test, the Bhut Jolokia [wikipedia.org] pepper scores over 1,000,000
Re: (Score:2)
I'm going to presume that eating this one of these suckers fresh causes an almost instant explosive evacuation of the bowel so powerful that you'd be lucky to have any bones left. I guess that would take your mind off the summer or your stomach problems.
Oblig. quote (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Probably makes your breath smell like hell but the pain from the blazing heat felt better than the sore throat.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Your ideas intrigue me; I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
Re: (Score:2)
The pain that foll
Re: (Score:2)
Burning thing of fire (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Burning thing of fire (Score:5, Funny)
If every time I peed, fire shot out of my junk, I would be strongly motivated not to pee.
Re:Burning thing of fire (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Youch, don't try this at home kids!
It's more dangerous and irresponsible than the information on How To Turn a Mini Maglite Into a Laser! [slashdot.org]
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Anesthesia notes (Score:5, Interesting)
During surgery the patient is unconscious, and thus feels no pain, but good surgeons recognize that local anesthesia is still necessary. It's a bit counterintuitive, and I remember being puzzled back in medical school that the surgeons would still numb the area before doing any work despite the patient being unresponsive regardless. The thought is that nerves are damaged and there are changes / responses to the painful stimulus that persist despite the individual being unconscious; in a way, you still have neuronal pain signals if you don't give local anesthesia. It also prevents the patient from waking up with pain in the operative site before you can give other types of painkillers.
Lidocaine (and capsaicin to some degree) would prevent the nerves from ever signaling -- they block the sodium channel that is necessary for nerves to fire. No firing -- no pain, *and* no no neuronal changes, and hopefully no long term pain. Lidocaine wears off after 2 hours or so, while it seems that capsaicin has much longer densitization effects.
Of note, capsaicin is also used in "pepper spray" self-defense products advertised to women in particular. I wonder if one could become numb to this after repeated sprayings. Hmmm, anybody on slashdot may be able to answer this from experience?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Ah, yes. Under Siege II, the 'go to' reference for all things scientific.
Re:Anesthesia notes (Score:5, Informative)
cheers.
Re:Anesthesia notes (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Perhaps far from stopping the nerve from signaling, capsaicin deadens the nerve by making it signal so often that it depletes chemicals needed to replenish after each signal. So with capsaicin, you WOULD get the neuronal changes, and possibly worse than before.
And if it does work by overworking the signaling mechanism (which is NOT passively electrical like a wire), then perhaps using a local will simply prevent the capsaicin from having any effec
Re: (Score:2)
First off, TRPV1 is the name of the receptor (formerly VR1), not the nerve fiber.
Second, the substance P depletion hypothesis for capsaicin desensitization fails to explain Barry Green's work on stimulus induced recovery (SIR).
Re:Anesthesia notes (Score:4, Interesting)
Capsaicin mixed with a lidocaine derivative produced an anesthetic that affected only pain transmitting neurons, without affecting motor neurons. The lidocaine derivative was unable to penetrate nerve cells on its own, but the capsaicin opened pores that are only present in pain neurons.
IANAD, and only in rats for now.
But that's the best part! (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:But that's the best part! (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
It just makes you not wanna kill yourself so the pain ends (chronic pain is like being tortured 24/7 with no relief, you eventually want it to stop, no mat
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
SiChuan pepper works on my mouth (Score:5, Informative)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_pepper [wikipedia.org]
works well as an anesthetic. It's commonly use in Gong Bao Ji Ding (US:Kung Pao Chicken) in China, and, along with ginger, makes it way more tasty than the poor imitation available in the west.
Re:SiChuan pepper works on my mouth (Score:4, Interesting)
The food in the Hubei province is really, really, REALLY good. Having travelled throughout many parts of China and enjoyed the diverse food in all the places I went, Hubei food was definitely at the top of my list. The sichuan peppers weren't the reason for that; they were OK but nothing special. It was the type of food, the zestiness of it, the really unique ingredients (beans in Chinese food? How weird!). There is a chain of Hubei food restaurants in Beijing called Jiu Tou Niau (not sure about the spelling there), which means "nine headed bird", and they are just awesome.
How could this be used in poor countries? (Score:5, Interesting)
I know many people who don't have access to a first aid kit but who eat peppers every day.
So... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:So... (Score:4, Funny)
If you read that as Gac Palantic Barsle Glagter, then your Babel fish needs replacing...
Re:So... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
AMAZONIAN TRIBAL DEPARTMENT OF CANNIBAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION
Applies to: All foreign explorers and adventurers.
Current at: 31 October 2007
There are some media reports in circulation that wounded and captured
explorers should be peppered but not salted prior to eating. These
reports should be disregarded.
Tribal members are reminded that the appropriate seasoning of foreign
adventurers is entirely at the discretion of the cook. Anyone in need
of further guidance can consult Schedule 17, Append
Re: (Score:2)
Funny you should mention salt... works for cankers (Score:2)
Actually salt is good (in the right concentration) (Score:2)
That said, the most preferable cleansing is quickly and copiously right after the injury. So immediately running your cut under the tap for several minutes or ri
Re: (Score:2)
Long Lasting Formula(TM) (Score:2, Funny)
I guess it won't be long 'til I start getting emails about the magical wonders of exotic capsaicin from the habanero fields of Central America and how I can satisfy my lover with an erection lasting for 6 hours at a time...
Re: (Score:2)
Let me just say that residual capsaicin transferred to the sensitive mucous membranes of a female don't feel too good. She was out of commission with an intense burning 'down there' for about half an hour. I felt really really badly
So my advice is: don't eat spicy
No no no no no no! Re:Long Lasting Formula(TM) (Score:2)
Lesson learned. Pain is a great teacher.
Numb for weeks?!? (Score:2)
Re:Numb for weeks?!? (Score:5, Informative)
In short, I think the doctors and chemists know more than you do.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I appreciate the informative reply - only thing missing is a link for the lazy.
BTW, what happened to Slashdot? I thought I was there, but then I got a worthwhile reply...?
Re: (Score:2)
Weapon vs. Medicine (Score:2)
Bright Ideas : #? (Score:5, Funny)
"Let's eat those things from the chickens butt, but first, put them in hot water for a while."
"I bet the white liquid from the cows teet goes great with cookies, let's have a go!"
And now:
"Hmm, this guy is in serious pain...let's pour salsa in him!"
Re:Bright Ideas : #? (Score:4, Funny)
Unforeseen consequences (Score:4, Funny)
Obligatory Chuck Norris (Score:2, Funny)
Capsaicin, the new wonder drug? (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm sure they'll find new properties of Capsaicin as time goes on. However, the corporate rub is that Capsaicin, like hemp, is a naturally occurring substance and therefore cannot be patented... unless (bite your tongue) they 'modify' the current laws.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Plus, considering that it's natural, with none of the weird side effects that come with most pharmaceuticals, Capsaicin pills work as a supplement to standard medical treatments.
Natural schmatural. Everything that exists is natural, including stuff like hydrogen cyanide and polonium. I'm sure James Randi wouldn't accept just any pharmaceuticals as examples of supernatural phenomena.
I'm sure they'll find new properties of Capsaicin as time goes on. However, the corporate rub is that Capsaicin, like hemp, is a naturally occurring substance and therefore cannot be patented... unless (bite your tongue) they 'modify' the current laws.
'Modify' as in 'genetically modify'? I guess some variants could already have been patented.
Re: (Score:2)
Case in point: bird eats jalapeño seeds, flies away, gets a case of the runs a few miles later. No seeds move further faster than spicy ones.
But why would animals, after millions of years, keep eating these seeds? There's gotta be some incentive for us, too. Capsaicin seems to be a generous substance, serving animal individuals to be
Re: (Score:2)
As a lover of hot sauce, preferring flavorful over painful (my favorite [milehighhotsauce.com]) I'm convinced that hot peppers kill the bad bacteria in our guts - though initially it kills the good bacteria too, hence the desire for a shot of novacane to the nether regions after overindulging in kimchee.
Foolish Endeavors (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
In Mexico, that's know as "paying taxes".
I'm very, very good at eating spicy, but once, in a seafood joint, I noticed a bottle of Insanity Sauce, which I'd never seen before, and with due warning from the guys there, I put like, six drops on my ceviche tostada, and for the first time in years, my eyes watered up, I couldn't believe it. The guys had a good chuckle, but went silent when I put six more drops in my next tostada, and the next one. When I ret
Peppers used for centuries for treating wounds (Score:2, Informative)
Useful advice. (Score:5, Informative)
Well, here's a great tip next time you're on a dare, or in a thai or mexican restaurant: Keep a piece of candy nearby. If the burning sensation becomes too much to bear, unwrap the candy and pop it in your mouth, the sudden sugar coating on the tongue will overwhelm the taste buds with a near-opposite sensation, canceling most of the pain.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:old? (Score:5, Informative)
SHOW 904
http://www.pbs.org/saf/transcripts/transcript904.htm [pbs.org]
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Oblig (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Haven't I seen this before? (Score:5, Informative)
Nope, you haven't seen it before. That non-dupe is about a completely different anesthesia-related use of capsaicin. The purpose there is to enable the distribution of an anesthetic that only works from the inside into the cells.
The purpose here is to give the nerve endings such an intense blast of pain that they go numb for days or weeks. This would be horrendously agonizing to the patient, but they're already under anesthetic and so don't notice it. Then, those nerve endings being numb for a few weeks reduces the need for post-surgery narcotics.
Same drug, same general area of research (anesthetics), completely different usage.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
girlfriend reference on slashdot...
3
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Here's a hint: if a "doctor" comes in, and his white coat buttons up double breasted (like this [yimg.com]), run, limp or crawl to the nearest exit as fast as you can. Remember, you want this [computercompany.net], not this [emerils.com]. If you get this [uniformsandscrub.com], and you're not in San Francisco, you've wandered onto a movie set.