A chopping board and knife with green whole and sliced jalapeno peppers

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Here’s What to Do if You Get Jalapeño in the Eye: Tips and Remedies

10 Sep 2025

Journalist

I work with chilies every single day—no exaggeration. That’s what happens when you marry into an Indian family. I’ve mastered the art of keeping my hands away from my eyes while cooking, but recently, I slipped—and got jalapeño juice in my eye. Ouch.

Why does it hurt so much? Jalapeños, like other spicy peppers, contain capsaicin—a natural compound that irritates mammals (like us) but leaves birds, nature’s seed-spreaders, unharmed. It’s nature’s clever defense strategy: mammals chew and destroy seeds, while birds swallow and disperse them.

Capsaicin doesn’t register on your taste buds—it triggers your pain receptors instead. That’s why chili lovers seem a little… masochistic. We don’t taste the burn so much as feel it. Which explains why jalapeño juice can set your eye ablaze, but will never appreciate the cooling comfort of a cucumber mask.

So, back to my still-stinging eye. This kind of kitchen emergency calls for quick action. Here are two tried-and-true remedies if you ever get jalapeño—or any type of chili—near your eyes.

What To Do If You Get Jalapeño In The Eye

Wash your Hands First

Use dish soap and warm water to wash your hands thoroughly,
Scrubbing under your nails if possible. A nail brush helps.
This step is crucial—you don’t want to rub more chili oil into your eye.

A person thoroughly washing hands under a running tap with soap

Credit: Sean Horsburgh on Unsplash

Method 1: Use Cold Milk

Soak a clean cotton ball in cold, plain cow’s milk.
Gently place it over your closed eye.
Alternatively, dip your clean fingertips in milk and carefully dab around the eye area—do not rub.

Milk helps neutralize the burn because capsaicin, the compound that makes chilies hot, dissolves in fat—not water. That’s also why drinking milk works better than water when your mouth is on fire.

Water spreads chili oil, amplifying the burn, while milk’s fat content breaks it down. The only downside? It can get a little messy—but it’s also surprisingly refreshing.

Credit: Daniel Sinoca on Unsplash

Method 2: Use Baby Shampoo and Saline

After washing your hands, apply a small amount of baby shampoo.
Make a loose fist and use the back of your hand—not your fingertips—to gently wash the skin around the affected eye.
Rinse thoroughly with sterile saline solution.
Repeat as needed; you should feel relief quickly.

Important Notes:

Avoid rinsing with plain water, which spreads chili oils and worsens the burn. If in doubt, use a sterile eye wash.
Combining both methods—milk for soothing, shampoo and saline for cleaning—often works best.
If pain, redness, or vision problems persist, seek medical attention.

Credit: Danielle-Claude Bélanger on Unsplash

How to Handle Jalapeños Correctly

Always wash knives, cutting boards, and utensils thoroughly before and after handling peppers. Capsaicin oils linger and can transfer to other foods—or your fingers—long after you think they’re clean.

When prepping jalapeños, wear disposable gloves to protect your skin. If you’re working with extremely hot varieties or have sensitive skin, consider kitchen-safe goggles.

Credit: Edwin Gonzalez on Unsplash

Recipes with Jalapeño Peppers

Once you’ve safely sliced your jalapeños, put them to work in recipes that showcase their heat and flavor.

From snacks like cheese-stuffed jalapeño peppers and nachos with cheddar cheese and jalapeño, to mains such as chili verde with pork or sea bass ceviche with coconut sauce and jalapeño granita by chef Gabriela Ghamorro, this versatile pepper always adds a defining twist.

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Does Removing the Seeds Make Chili Peppers Less Spicy?

Not really. The heat comes from capsaicin, and it isn’t stored in the seeds. Most of the burn lives in the white membrane—the pith—that holds the seeds in place. Removing the seeds may make handling easier, but it won’t noticeably reduce the spice level.