SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
A healthy, 47-year-old man who ate a hamburger topped with pureed ghost pepper ended up in a San Francisco emergency room after a life-threatening retching fit:
The man's condition, a "spontaneous esophageal rupture," which is also called Boerhaave syndrome, is "a relatively rare phenomenon," said lead study author Dr. Ann Arens, who was a physician in the department of emergency medicine at the University of California, San Francisco at the time of the man's case in the summer of 2015. (Arens is currently an emergency medicine doctor and medical toxicologist at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.)
Spontaneous esophageal rupture is caused by violent vomiting and retching, Arens said. In other words, the man's reaction to the ghost pepper, rather than the pepper itself, caused the rupture, Arens said. The condition is very dangerous, and is fatal in 20 to 40 percent of all cases, even when patients receive treatment, the report said. "If [the condition is] left untreated, mortality approaches 100 percent," the authors wrote. When patients die from a ruptured esophagus, the cause of death is likely a "rapid and fatal infection," Arens told Live Science.
The man was sent home from the hospital 23 days after the operation, the report said. His feeding tube was still in place when he was sent home, but Arens said the tube was only temporary, until the esophagus healed. She said she believes the man is currently doing well. When Arens spoke to the man after the surgery, he "did not seem keen to try [eating a ghost pepper] again," she said.
Ghost peppers are also known as bhut jolokia. Also at USA Today.
Esophageal Rupture After Ghost Pepper Ingestion (DOI: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2016.05.061) (DX)
Spontaneous esophageal rupture, Boerhaave syndrome, is a rare condition encountered by emergency physicians, with a high mortality rate. This case serves as an important reminder of a potentially life-threatening surgical emergency initially interpreted as discomfort after a large spicy meal.
(Score: 3, Informative) by edIII on Wednesday October 19 2016, @05:27PM
A ghost pepper is not that bad. My first experience was the "jock" one because I wanted to try it. I got over halfway through before needing to stop, but I didn't hurt myself. The indigestion though, holy shit. Actually, molten hot lava shit, but that was afterwards.
Where it gets insane is using 20-30 peppers for a meal. That's fucking nuts, but I'll still eat a chicken wing or two for the heat.
I grow Ghost peppers and eat them regularly. Sometimes I'll eat one raw for fun, but they're truly best minced in olive oil and allowed to mellow for 30 days. You take a nice mellowed teaspoon of it and mix it in with chili and it's less hot than habenero, but better tasting.
Out of all the peppers, Ghost has been the best for me by far. To cook and eat with, not just blow somebody away :)
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 19 2016, @11:49PM
Yeah. There's an old joke about a guy who makes sure he orders ice cream to have after he eats the hot stuff.
Later, on the toilet, he's saying Come on, ice cream. [google.com]
A ghost pepper is not that bad
The hell you say.
Normal people might use ONE per GALLON of salsa--and then warn folks.
When I make a pot of rice (1 cup of dry rice), I often add finely-diced peppers; my limit is 4 serranos.
A Serrano may be a bit shorter than a Jalapeno and is a bit skinnier. [google.com]
As has been noted, picante is reliably inversely proportional to size. [deharris.com]
The next thing up from that and which is common is a Habanero.
That's beyond my tolerance.
...then there's Pasillias or Anaheims for -real- gabachos. [google.com]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by edIII on Thursday October 20 2016, @12:31AM
I think the dude's name is Cheech, and I know the scene :)
Granted, I can tolerate a lot more heat than the average person, but it still isn't that bad :)
Remember, I said it mellowed after a few weeks. Some peppers can mellow, while other peppers seem to get hotter with age. Ghost peppers are the mellowing variety as near as I can tell. I think that one teaspoon was out of at least 8oz, and the whole thing only had 3 or 4 of them.
It mellows, trust me. When it has mellowed the taste surprised me. I mean I could still taste it raw, but the mellow flavor it has is really nice.
I promise :)
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.