ELI5 What happens to your body when eating the spiciest thing on the planet?

[u/foxehkins]

At some point does your mouth stop registering the spice? Does it cause permanent damage? I remember eating a bunch of Wareheads when I was a kid and my tongue got all sore but I had eaten a lot of them.

[u/sixfourtykilo]

Your experience with citric acid is different than the question you're asking.

This had been asked in the past and someone thoughtfully responded with the following:

Wrote about some of the hazards of capsacin in another thread recently,

From the MSDS on Capsacin: Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant, sensitizer), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation (lung irritant, lung sensitizer). Severe over-exposure can result in death

Basically, simulating the pain response in extremely high quantities can lead to inflammation of many tissues, including the epithelial tissues of the throat and lungs. I would assume if you inhaled huge quantities of capsacin, your throat would begin to close over, and your lungs would inflame, both of which would make it very difficult to breath and could very well lead to death via asphyxiation.

EDIT: Found something on this in an Inhalation Toxicology textbook. It appears that inhaling high dose Capascin stimulates the Kratschmer Reflex, which leads to bronchospasm (Throat spasms), which indeed can stop breathing.

http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1ksk70/if_chili_capsaicin_only_cheats_the_pain_cells/cbs6y2g

[u/JUDGE_FUCKFACE → u/sixfourtykilo]

bronchospasm (Throat spasms)

Bronchospasm is constriction of the smooth muscle that lines the bronchi, the branching passageways in the lungs themselves. It is more life-threatening than laryngospasms (throat spasm) because there is no way to bypass like with a cricothyrotomy.

[u/VVrayth → u/JUDGE_FUCKFACE]

Your username is the best thing I've seen all day.

[u/blondekker → u/sixfourtykilo]

I work with concentrated capacin at my work. Shit is no joke and incredibly dangerous. Comes in a container with a skull and crossbones on it

[u/ice1000 → u/blondekker]

What do you do?

[u/supervisord → u/ice1000]

Works with concentrated capacin

[u/Aluxanatomy → u/ice1000]

Skull and crossbones drawer.

[u/Paladin_G → u/Aluxanatomy]

😂

[u/MidnightRequim → u/ice1000]

He’s a capsaiciner

[u/HulkDeez → u/ice1000]

Daycare worker

[u/Potatoez → u/ice1000]

Professional spicy boofer

[u/CaterpillarFun6896 → u/blondekker]

Spice at a certain level stops even registering as heat and just feels like a genuine stabbing pain

[u/foxehkins → u/sixfourtykilo]

Thank you!

[u/az987654 → u/foxehkins]

To reiterate this excellent answer, capsacin, in spicy peppers (capsicums) is not the same as acid in candy, which gave you ulcers (sores) in your mouth due to the acid actually burning the cells of the skin in your mouth.

[u/PezzoGuy → u/foxehkins]

I also did a similar thing as a kid, where I loved sour candy and had acquired a large supply of warheads and other sours. My tongue didn't just get sore; I actually lost most of my sense of taste for a couple of weeks. Pretty sure I dissolved a number of taste buds.

[u/Unusualhuman → u/PezzoGuy]

I remember being in college even these were new. A friend had a whole lot of them, and I tried one, liked it, then against his advice I decided to try every single flavor. A day or two later my tongue peeled, and was so raw! I think the roof of my mouth also peeled, but I can't remember for sure. It really grossed me out, I've never wanted to touch them since

[u/Spire_Prime → u/sixfourtykilo]

I used to gut 30lbs of Jalapenos into a lug of water at work. All the seeds and such would go into the garbage disposal. Was never a fun time to be in the dish room as it kicked up the capsaicin into the air and made us cough.

I tried straining the water in a huge strainer and dumping the seeds and such in the trash. It was the same.

[u/oblivious_fireball]

That depends a lot on what you define as spice. "Spicy", as most people define it, tends to come from Capsaicin, a chemical found in peppers, Piperine, a chemical most well known for being found in Black Peppercorns, and Allyl isothiocyanate, the chemical known for giving horseradish and wasabi its kick. Warhead Candy instead produces an intense sour taste via citric acid and malic acid, not usually defined as spicy.

Spicy tasting chemicals like the aforementioned usually act as irritants to the tissues in your mouth and digestive tract, or they latch on to chemical receptors that register pain or heat, giving a false sense of burning or pain.

The most concentrated form of Capsaicin you can find is effectively Pepper Spray, the stuff they use for self defense. Ingesting it can seriously damage your mouth and digestive tract and cause excruciating pain, and will most likely cause very painful diarrhea on the other end of the trip.

[u/Camelknight]

The absolute spiciest thing on earth is an extract from a cactus it triggers the same receptors as Capsaicin and works in the exact same way however it is so powerful that it burns out the nerves before they can send a message so you feel nothing permanently it's used mainly as a treatment for chronic intense pain

[u/Newwavecybertiger]

For most people it's just hot that's it. But some tummy troubles but that more trying to beat the heat with dairy or something