Capsaicin

def: is the active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum. It is an irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burning in any tissue with which it comes into contact. (thanks, Wikipedia!)

Last night, Louisa inadvertently had her first taste of a jalapeno pepper. I helped Walter cook dinner by cutting onions and peppers, including the jalapeno, to make chicken sofrito from Food&Wine magazine. I didn't think to much about it when I rubbed my face and felt my skin start to tingle a bit. I later looked in the mirror after the following incident and saw that the tingling and burning sensation had actually turned my skin red!

Anyway, I had just nursed Louisa and was "talking" with her when she grabbed my thumb and stuck it in her mouth. Oh, you should've seen her face! She got the "What-are-you-doing-to-me?" look and then started to cry. It sort of resembled this face:

I felt horrible about it, but I think nursing her some more managed to get rid of the tingling/burning in her mouth. I did finally manage to get the remaining capsicin oils off my hands, compliments of serious scrubbing and Walter's AgentOrange mechanic's scrub. Walter said my thumb tasted soapy but didn't make his tongue tingle, so I think we're in the clear. So far no repeats and I think I'll let Daddy handle dicing hot peppers from now on!