OC-Trainer
Member
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2014
- Messages
- 567
Just to dig a little deeper on capsaicin topic...
Capsaicin is the pepper plants defense mechanism to help ensure its survival. Its number one "predator" is us; mammals. Common thinking when it comes to hot sauce (and other pungent foods) is that we can build a tolerance and hence, would require hotter and hotter peppers to get the same endorphin rush. This is true to a certain extent. But only when it comes to taste buds and the perception of heat in the mouth.
Even though oleoresin capsicum affects our mucosa the same, (causes an involuntary inflammation response) when it comes to the mucous membranes of the eyes and lungs it also has additional physiological effects. In the eyes, it cause inflammation (eyelids slam shut, pupil dilation) and also completely destroys the pH balance of them--albeit temporarily. In the lungs, it causes acute inflammation that comes on so suddenly, that it literally takes your breath away. How does this help when used for defense? If the perp can't breath properly he isn't going to be able to put up much of a fight. Since they can't breath, the likelihood of them having the stamina to fight gives you an enormous edge in that confrontation. Of course, you must also take care not to inhale the OC in the process.(Train, train, train!)
That brings me to the crux of this post. When you hear someone say "they eat a lot of peppers, so they're immune to pepper spray" or "in their culture they eat tons of spicy foods, so pepper spray has little affect... blah blah blah"---It is pure and utter nonsense. Last time I checked we don't put hot sauce in our lungs. We don't routinely drop hot sauce in our eyes. Even if we could somehow "inject" hot sauce in our lungs (we can't, I'd probably be lethal) to "build tolerance" the acute inflammation that occurs is completely involuntary. This reaction is so pronounced that there is pepper spray used in prison systems that completely relies on just the OC vapor to incapacitate the inmates and get them to comply.
So the next time someone starts spewing the typical pepper spray cliches, tell them to prove it and back up the rhetoric.
OCT
Capsaicin is the pepper plants defense mechanism to help ensure its survival. Its number one "predator" is us; mammals. Common thinking when it comes to hot sauce (and other pungent foods) is that we can build a tolerance and hence, would require hotter and hotter peppers to get the same endorphin rush. This is true to a certain extent. But only when it comes to taste buds and the perception of heat in the mouth.
Even though oleoresin capsicum affects our mucosa the same, (causes an involuntary inflammation response) when it comes to the mucous membranes of the eyes and lungs it also has additional physiological effects. In the eyes, it cause inflammation (eyelids slam shut, pupil dilation) and also completely destroys the pH balance of them--albeit temporarily. In the lungs, it causes acute inflammation that comes on so suddenly, that it literally takes your breath away. How does this help when used for defense? If the perp can't breath properly he isn't going to be able to put up much of a fight. Since they can't breath, the likelihood of them having the stamina to fight gives you an enormous edge in that confrontation. Of course, you must also take care not to inhale the OC in the process.(Train, train, train!)
That brings me to the crux of this post. When you hear someone say "they eat a lot of peppers, so they're immune to pepper spray" or "in their culture they eat tons of spicy foods, so pepper spray has little affect... blah blah blah"---It is pure and utter nonsense. Last time I checked we don't put hot sauce in our lungs. We don't routinely drop hot sauce in our eyes. Even if we could somehow "inject" hot sauce in our lungs (we can't, I'd probably be lethal) to "build tolerance" the acute inflammation that occurs is completely involuntary. This reaction is so pronounced that there is pepper spray used in prison systems that completely relies on just the OC vapor to incapacitate the inmates and get them to comply.
So the next time someone starts spewing the typical pepper spray cliches, tell them to prove it and back up the rhetoric.
OCT