Habaneras Extraordinaire

A few weeks ago I decided to cook "kick-ass chili" since Matt always has to add hot sauce to everything I make. I wanted it to be hot so I bought lots of peppers-the brighter the better. So I saw habaneras and thought, "These are supposed to be one of the hottest peppers in the world. I can do it, and plus they're pretty and orange." I thought they would add color and taste. Yes, it did. I cut the habanera and threw it into the pot with my fingers. Before adding other peppers, I decided to take a pin hair of a bite. That side of my mouth went on fire. So I grabbed juice and some chips to change the flavor in my mouth. But the more I ate, the hotter my mouth became. So I grabbed sweet candies, but my mouth was fierce!!! I touched the tip of my nose and it was burning. Forty minutes later, Matt came home and I explained the dilemma. I happened to touch the corner of my eye and I felt like screaming. Get my phone! I cried. I needed to call Carolynn or April, my two nurse buddies, to figure out what the heck to do. He asked for her number as I frantically searched. Both of them were out so, clutching my eye, I ran to the computer and yahooed the problem. Apparently, habaneras are so hot that you are not supposed to touch them with bare skin. You can get chemical burns if you do. Everything you touch will get the oil from the pepper on your skin and will burn. The solution is to wash you hands with special stuff, which I didn't have, or with salt and milk (or strong alcohol). Also, ice cubes help. I put eye drops in my eye and held an ice cube to it. I held another ice cube on my lips and nose. My fingers still burned so I soaked them in milk. Eventually I had to take a sleep aid so it would conk me out so I didn't have to endure the pain. On a side note, we ate the chili, one slow bite at a time. I screamed anytime Matt had a piece of bright orange habanera. We'd put in on a napkin then clean the spoon completely. It was a tense dinner in which every bite could cause severe and deadly pain.