A man who took part in a chilli pepper eating contest ended up with more than he bargained for when he took on the hottest pepper in the world.
After eating a Carolina Reaper pepper, the 34-year-old started dry heaving before developing a pain in his neck that turned into a series of thunderclap headaches: sudden and severe episodes of excruciating pain that peak within a minute.
The Carolina Reaper, which can top 2.2m on the Scoville heat scale, was the world’s hottest pepper at the time of the incident in 2016 – although new breeds called Pepper X and Dragon’s Breath have since reportedly surpassed it.
In the case of fiery peppers such as the Carolina Reaper, capsaicin, which is the chemical that causes the heat or spiciness, might be one of those rare triggers. In fact, a rare condition called reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS), where blood vessels that supply blood to the brain suddenly constrict and tighten - the main symptom of which is a thunderclap headache - was first discovered in 2001 in a person who had developed a thunderclap headache after eating hot peppers.
How are thunderclap headaches different from other severe headaches, such as migraines or cluster headaches? One of the biggest differences between migraines and thunderclap headaches is that with a migraine, the pain doesn’t start off that severe within a minute; it takes time to have pain that is significant, typically 20 to 30 minutes at a minimum.
My daughter and I are growing some for a friend. He had the plants sent to us, which we started in our greenhouse. Turns out, the company that he had send the seedlings to us, mixed up the order. We received Carolina Reapers, but we also received two plants which turned out to be Scorpion Peppers. The Reapers are unpleasantly hot. The Scorpion Peppers are off the chart. It is absolutely amazing to me how human beings can even eat and enjoy these hellish vegetables! Jalapenos are about as hot as I can stand.
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