Pepper spray can fell even people with a high tolerance for pain because it restricts the airway and leaves you gasping for breath. Even when pepper spray isn’t inhaled, its effects on the skin and eyes can require hospital attention, causing intense burning pain, swelling, inflammation and redness.
One inquiry we ran across in our research was “Does pepper spray really work?”.
One article claimed that unlike tear gas products, pepper spray used on those under the influence does work. Causes intense, temporary debilitating burning sensation. Causes non-lethal inflammation of all mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs. Cause eyes to slam shut from intense burning and temporary blindness.
What are the side effects of pepper spray?
Pepper spray can also have the following effects: 1 a dry cough or wheezing 2 shortness of breath or an inability to breathe properly 3 throat burning 4 chest pain 5 gagging 6 a runny nose 7 gasping for air 8 panic 9 an inability to speak 10 dizziness 11 loss of consciousness 12 rashes, blisters, or burns on contact with the skin More.
For those with asthma, exposure to OC can even cause death. While many of the effects are short-term, some of them are serious enough that the American Civil Liberties Union asked the California Court of Appeals to consider the use of pepper spray as dangerous and cruel, following its use in a 1999 protest.
You might be wondering “Can pepper spray cause death?”
The most usefull answer is: pepper spray is known as a “nonlethal weapon,” or a weapon that cannot kill people. While death is rare, reports have linked several deaths with the use of pepper spray. In 2003, a Department of Justice report on an investigation into 63 deaths of people in custody found that pepper spray directly contributed to the deaths of two people.
Another frequent query is “What are the dangers of tear gas and pepper spray?”.
Tear gas and pepper spray can create serious, even life threatening complications in people with underlying heart or lung conditions, like asthma or COPD. If inhaled, tear gas can irritate and inflame the lining of the lungs and upper airway, causing wheezing, coughing, and choking.
Getting pepper-sprayed is worse than getting maced [PDF] — mace causes burning but no respiratory effects. Pepper spray can fell even people with a high tolerance for pain because it restricts the airway and leaves you gasping for breath.
You should be wondering “How many people have been killed by pepper spray?”
Our answer is thus, “we significantly underestimate the numbers of deaths” due to pepper spray. Yet even with such strict and limiting criteria, this systematic review of a variety of weapons for crowd control “identified 5,131 people who suffered injuries; two of these people died and 70 suffered permanent disabilities.
Does pepper spray burn skin?
This compound is the reason why pepper sprays lasts a while on the skin. The burning sensation when pepper spray comes in contact with the skin, eyes, throat and other areas of the body. Aside from capsaicin, pepper spray also contains a propellant.
You might be asking “Why does pepper spray Burn my Eyes?”
One article claimed that capsaicin present in the pepper spray is the cause of all the irritation and burning sensation to the eyes and sensitive skin on the face.
How to get pepper spray off your skin?
Everyone reacts differently to pepper spray – much depends on your skin type, sensitivity, pore size, etc – so this won’t alleviate the pain for everyone, but it does work in some cases. Vegetable oil Apply vegetable or cooking oil to your skin like lotion. Leave it for up to ten minutes, then rinse with soap and water and repeat.
One source proposed Vinegar: Acetic acid neutralizes the alkalinity of capsaicin. Pour it over hands or contaminated skin. It’s also safe to soak skin in a mixture of vinegar and water for 15 minutes. Additionally, you can rinse your mouth with vinegar to relieve hot pepper burn. Try acidic beverages containing tomato, pineapple, lemon, or lime.