The Pas-de-Calais gendarmerie warns against a new game at school, consisting of sprinkling chili pepper.
In the family of silly games, we ask the youngest: the chili game. After that of the scarf or the can, our dear blond heads in vein of adventure have apparently created a new game intended to animate the recess. It would consist in throwing chunks of peppers in the eyes or the mouth of some unfortunate comrade, even in deliberately crushing peppers on the skin.
It is the Pas-de-Calais gendarmerie which alerts on this new practice from his Facebook page. “Prevention remains the most effective method to curb this phenomenon, it is necessary to speak openly with our young people about the dangerousness of this kind of practice”, advise the gendarmes. From L’Est Éclair, three schoolchildren were injured on November 10 in the Aube by wanting to play this game, causing a visit to the Samu in the establishment.
Blame it on capsaicin
Peppers contain capsaicin (and derivatives), a molecule capable of activating certain neurons sensitive to thermal variation (TRP). These receptors, present on the skin and in most tissues of the body, are the cause of the burning sensation caused by chili peppers. On contact with the eyes, it causes a sharp pain: it is the principle of pepper spray, or pepper spray, used by law enforcement or as a means of self-defense.
While not as dangerous or penetrating as a thermal burn, the burn from chili peppers is nonetheless painful, especially if it affects the eyes. To wash the contact area, water is not immediately effective: it is better to use a fat such as cold milk or cream, which has the ability to dissolve capsaicin. And better, anyway, to avoid sprinkling pepper …
Dangerous games are a classic in schoolyards. A few years ago, the headscarf game had caused a lot of talk, by provoking several accidental deaths. The chili game is infinitely more benign, but it is better to put a stop to it before it escalates. And for the facetious, remember that the fruit of the rosehip or the plane tree makes an excellent scratching hair, proven without damage by several generations of children.
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