Feeling hot hot hot…

Thanks to all of you who offered tips/suggestions to appease the terrible stinging. Something worked!

Well well well… wish it were as steamy as it sounds. Quite the contrary! I had the misfortune of slipping in my teensy kitchen on a piece of plastic wrap, whilst going to add red chilly powder to my paruppu usili. That meant that the jar was open and in the process of my fall, all of the powder spilt on my chin, my clothes, my arms, etc. Luckily, my eyes were saved. I was quick to jump to my feet and rapidly brush everything away. Or so I thought. But did you know that it can really sting? And that it spreads slowly as a subdued burning sensation? And that a shower just sorta feeds the burn? Indeed I felt the burning more after the shower than before. The only thing that the shower ensures is that nothing is physically sticking on to your skin, I suppose (unless it gets into your pores or something). With my skin burning in patches, huffing and puffing, I was all ready to get doused in an ice-bath.. but I got tips from many friends - from applying ghee/baby oil on it to patting buttermilk on it and I tried them all. Either one of them worked or it just gradually subsided. What a relief! I think the worst area was my chin… maybe coz it caught the most of the powder. But it had that exact feeling that you get on your upper lip after having something very spicy and then drinking chai (remember how chai/coke feeds a stinging burn on the tongue after something spicy?) To add to it, the fall ended up splitting a finger a bit and getting chilly on it. Fewer things burn more… I can say that with conviction and a cold water splash never felt better. Band-aided and burn-free, I am finally at peace… enough to blog about it in any case.