Masquerading Peppers!

[luckbealady]

Right now it's tomato season, and my dad is driving tractor and taking wagons from the fields to the factory.
One of the farmers, who was also at the factory, gave him a few peppers.

He didn't know what kind they were, but they looked like shepherd peppers (taste like red bell peppers).

We had some great sliced roast beef, so tonight I thought it would be fun to make a philly cheese steak for supper. Cut up the peppers and sauteed them with some onions.

Took a bite of my sandwich....and
My lips were on fire!
Drank 2 large glasses of milk - didn't take my lactose pills as I hadn't planned on drinking milk at supper, so I ended up with an upset stomach.

Burning lips went away pretty fast, but my hand is causing me so much discomfort.
I've tried everything - olive oil, lemon juice, soaking it in milk, leaving it in yogurt, sugar/water/oil rub, rubbing alcohol, diluted bleach, vinegar, baking soda/water paste, washing with grease cutting dish soap. Absolutely nothing has stopped the burning.

I think the worst part is that because I didn't know it was a hot pepper, I took out all the seeds and membranes with my fingers - and I have some cuts and a skinned knuckle. So it's been over 5 hours now, and the pain is finally lessening. Still hurts, and will probably keep me up (I took a benadryl in case it's an allergic reaction, and at the very least I'm hoping that will put me to sleep). Physically my hand looks fine, but it feels like it's on fire.

Oh well, from what I can tell the burning will go away eventually.

At least I was lucky and didn't rub my eyes or use the bathroom before I realized it was a hot pepper!

[walkonby]

oh my! You think the guy could have issued a warning with those peppers, but I guess if he really didn't know they were ouchie mama hot, then it was an oversight. Hope the hand gets some relief soon.

[Natalka]

Oy, hoping your hand is better today!

(and I understand totally about the tummy upset from milk, me, too - I can't even get away with a few sips of milk without Lactaid)

[luckbealady]

My hands stopped burning around 2am.

My fingertips started stinging again after my shower this morning, but at least it's bearable compared to last night!

From now on, I'm sticking to bell peppers only!

[MrsSunshine]

WOW. i've seen them in the flyers lately.. i'll stay away from them.... glad to hear the burn is lessening.. yeesh.

[luckbealady]

WOW. i've seen them in the flyers lately.. i'll stay away from them.... glad to hear the burn is lessening.. yeesh.

Oh I don't think shepherd peppers themselves are hot (I looked it up and they're supposed to taste like sweet red peppers).
These just happened to look exactly like them!

[abbasgirl]

You're right. Shepherd peppers are just like red bell peppers. I buy a box of them every year because they freeze really well. So that would have been an easy mistake. Glad to hear your hand is feeling better!