Loading AI tools
Hunan hand syndrome (also known as "chili burn"[1]) is a temporary, but very painful, cutaneous condition that commonly afflicts those who handle, prepare, or cook with fresh or roasted chili peppers.[1] It was first described in an eponymous case report in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1981.[2] It occurs when the phytochemical capsaicin, which can be present in very high concentrations in certain varieties of chili peppers, (especially with superhot peppers such as ghost peppers or carolina reapers) contacts cutaneous free nerve endings which are present in high density in finger tips. This triggers the release of substance P, which in turn causes a sensation of intense burning pain. Various treatments for Hunan Hand have been described, including soaking the affected fingers in lidocaine;[2] milk or vinegar;[3] or the use of local nerve blocks, gabapentin, or topical corticosteroids.[4] Hunan hand can be prevented by wearing rubber gloves when handling chili peppers.
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
