Man in hospital after eating world's hottest chilli
The 34-year-old man had eaten one Carolina Reaper chilli in the contest in New York State.
The "crushingly painful" headaches came on in the next few days.
His experience has been published in the BMJ Case Reports as it is the first case to be associated with eating chilli peppers.
The doctor who reviewed his case has warned anyone eating hot chilli peppers to seek medical attention immediately if they experience sudden onset headaches.
"Thunderclap" headaches are caused by the sudden tightening of the vessels that supply blood to the brain, a condition known as reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCSV).
Immediately after eating at the contest, the man experienced dry heaves.
Severe neck pain developed over the next few days along with debilitating severe headaches, lasting just a few seconds at a time.
The pain was so bad he went to the emergency room and was tested for various neurological conditions, but the results were negative.
A CT scan showed that several arteries in his brain had constricted, leading doctors to diagnose him with RCVS.
World's hottest chilli
- The Carolina Reaper delivers an average of 1,569,300 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)
- As a comparison jalapeno peppers score between 2,500 to 8,000 SHU
- It was named the world's hottest chilli pepper by the Guinness World Records in 2013
- It was created by Ed Currie from the Pucker Butt Pepper Company in South Carolina over ten years
- He started growing chillies after learning that capsaicin found in chillies had potential as a cancer-fighting drug and he donates half of his harvest to cancer research
RCVS does not always have an obvious cause, but can occur as a reaction to some prescription medication, or after taking illegal drugs.
This is the first case to be associated with eating chilli peppers. Previously eating cayenne pepper has been linked to sudden constriction of the coronary artery and heart attacks.
The man's symptoms cleared up by themselves. And a CT scan five weeks later showed that his arteries had returned to their normal size.
Generally RCVS resolves within days to weeks and often has a favourable long-term prognosis, but in some cases severe vasoconstriction resulting in a stroke have been reported - but they are very rare.
Dr Kulothungan Gunasekaran, at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, who wrote the report, said people need to be aware of these risks, if eating the chilli.
"We would not advise against eating Carolina Reaper at this time, but we would recommend the general public be cautious about these adverse effects and we advise that they should seek medical attention immediately if they develop sudden onset headache after eating hot peppers."
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Hottest I've eaten is habanero. A friend of mine had a jar of peanuts that had been dusted with a habanero powder. I ate a couple handfuls with no problem. I like hot peppers, but no thunderclap headaches thank you.
I like the Trader Joes habanero sauce but you have to be careful with it.
I love hot peppers. My friends call me aspectos lips since very little affects me. But after reading about thunderclap headaches, I think I will pass on this one.
I make my own homemade green tomatillo salsa, and habaneros are an important part of the flavoring. I also use jalapenos, poblanos, serranos, anaheims and green and yellow chili peppers, along with green onions and cilantro.
Yeah....it's hot, but, sooo good.
I love spicy food but I also know to draw the line at habanero/red Savina peppers. I grew Bhut Jolokia peppers a few years ago but all I taste is searing heat.
I've seen these peppers and there is no way that I would eat one.
I've never had any kind of headache after eating any hot peppers. The tiny red Thai peppers are also really hot. But, they are very good with the Thai food. The food from India is also very hot. One of my neighbors many years ago was from India and always cooked their native food. I really did enjoy it.
I've never had a headache from eating hot food. I did once get a nasty case of hiccups because I ate something that was insanely hot.
I also love Indian and Thai food. I usually tell the waitress to make it spicy for a native.
There's a Thai restaurant not far from where I live and I go there mainly for their 'Flaming Chicken' as they call it. It's really good, and the rice dish that goes with is delicious. The chicken is not so spicy, but, the rice makes up for it. It makes for a great combo. I wish there was an Indian restaurant near here, but, there are none close to me.
I love the flavor in Thai food but, my stomach and, other parts of my body don't, flames shoot out, if you know what I mean.
It is definitely not for the weak stomach, or intestines. Thankfully, I am still able to tolerate the heat. (grin)
I use my green tomatillo salsa to make green Chili Verde and with homemade burritos and enchiladas. It goes good with most types of Mexican food, and I like it better than the red salsa. The mixture of the different peppers gives it a really good flavor.
There's a place in Pueblo Colorado that makes a "California Burrito", now, in California that same burrito is called a "Garbage Burrito", I know, it sounds bad but, the reason it's called this is because it comes with everything you can think of to put on it, including French fries, sometimes I'd get them in the morning and, eat it, I never needed to eat anything else until dinner that night because it was so big. I'd use the green salsa on it instead of the red.
A firend of mine years ago had some kind of dried, ground thai peppers-for seasoning....was pretty hot. I like hot, but the reaper doesn't even sound like fun. A friend is a chef in a restaurant-he has developed a Ghost Pepper burger that has just the right amount of heat. There's a place I used to go to when I lived in Northern Virginia-my roommates and I went every Sunday night. I had the Texas Devil Steak-deifnitiely worthwhile. I'm headed to D.C. this weekend, might have to look them up......
BTW, nice to see he donates a sizable chunk to cancer research.
Ever have Prik Nam Pla? You'l love it.
No I don't think so. I don't often go out for Thai food.
I prefer flavor over high heat. I make some pickled eggs with Habanero, ginger, onion, lemon zest and a pinch of thyme. Hot, but not enough to give you headaches. YIKES!
Sounds delicious.
I'll have to post the recipe. Part of a good ketogenic diet.
That's why I like Hatch green chile. Sometimes you get very mild and sometimes you get nuclear, but you always get flavor
Until I moved to California, years ago, I never used or, bought hot sauces, to much heat and, not enough flavor for me, then I saw a sauce on a table at a restaurant and, the people I was with said it wasn't that hot, so, I had to try it, since that time that is the only sauce I would buy or, use. Cholula Hot Sauce.
I like that in Bloody Marys better than I like Tabasco
I like it on Mashed Potatoes, hell. I like it on almost everything.
It's the Cumin that makes it so good, IMHO.
I love the Tabasco brand chipotle hot sauce. It is spicy but it won't blow your head off. The smoked flavor works great with meat or veggies. I make my own hot sauce but I almost always have some of that on hand as well. Even people who don't like hot foods like it.
I'll have to try a little when I go there again.