Black Friday? More Like Pepper Spray!

Atessa S
Dec 4, 2021
2 min read

Writer: Atessa

Although Black Friday is usually seen as a time of joy and excitement, it can also be a time of danger and greed. As an homage to Black Friday and its victims, we will be discussing a Black Friday incident and the medical side of it.

In 2011, 20 people were pepper sprayed after fighting over the Xbox 360 in Porter Ranch, California. Pepper spray otherwise known as oleoresin capsicum (OC) causes irritation and inflammation to the eyes, mouth, throat, lungs, and skin. It’s so irritating because it’s actually made of an oily resin derived from chili peppers! It also contains capsaicinoids which make up the pepper’s “hot” spicy taste and a solvent which is usually rubbing alcohol or a hydrocarbon. Let’s take a look at what symptoms of pepper spray affect different parts of the human body:

Symptoms:

After being pepper sprayed, your symptoms will likely last for 30 minutes, but it varies, given different circumstances and situations.

Eyes: Stinging, burning, tearing and redness, temporary blindness, and there have been reports of corneal abrasion in a small percentage of exposed cases.

Skin: Tingling, burning pain, redness, and occasional blistering.

Respiratory/inhalation: Burning sensation in the nose and throat, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. People with asthma may have more severe symptoms.

Ingestion: Burning or stinging sensation in the mouth, nausea, and vomiting.

Other symptoms: Disorientation, panic, and loss of control of motor activity.

Health Effects:

Pepper spray may lead to neurogenic inflammation. Capsaicin interacts with your peripheral sensory nerves which can induce the release of peptide compounds, contained in nerve terminals. These nerve terminals include the neurotransmitter substance P. Substance P causes vasodilatation, leakage of plasma from capillaries which can be very painful. Neurogenic inflammation can occur in vascular beds, endocrine glands and smooth muscle.

How to Treat OC Exposure:

If you are pepper sprayed, here are some things you’d need to do to treat yourself: