Spraying oneself with pepper spray

[NickBallard]

I think this is a good topic for strategies and tactics in self-defense. I've been thinking about having someone spray me with with pepper spray so that I can see what it's like, and also so I'd be more used to it just in case if I ever did have to use it in self-defense and accidentally got some on myself. Is there any recommendations about how you would go about doing this? How long will the affects probably last (like would it not be wise to drive a car for about a day, or how does it work)? Like I know that I should take out my contacts beforehand. Maybe I'm crazy, but I think that it may be good from a strategies and tactics point of view.

These are the pepper sprays I have to choose from:
I own FoxLabs (5.3 millions SHUs, 2% Oleoresin Capsicum, 0.67% major capsaicinoids),
BodyGuard Hi-Power ([don't confuse with LE-10 or regular BodyGuard]) which is 3 million SHUs, 15% Oleoresin Capsicum, 3.0% major capsaicinoids [remember the EPA won't allow over 2.0% major capsaicinoids for grizzly bears, but is that for safety or ethical reasons? Does anyone know for sure? remember artificial pain doesn't matter to me in this, just safety, or at least I think this way before trying this experiment ]),
Sabre Red,
Heatwave Model 120

I also just bought some FoxLabs sudecon decontamination wipes.

 

[Lupinus]

uhm...erm...


if you spray yourself with fox labs I demand a video of the event be posted

 

[exar]

Probably not a great idea unless you're really macho or feel like making a trip to the 24hr convenient care. I've been in the close proximity of pepper blast's(not directly in my face but some mist got on my face). It made my eyes burn but not incapacitated, nose burned a little. The biggest problem for me is that it doesn't take a whole lot to get in your nasal passages and throat. I couldn't quit coughing and almost puked from it plus it also caused my throat to swell slightly making it hard to breath. That effect lasted about 15 min until it wore off. I could imagine that a blast directly in my face could be serious for me and I would need to go to the hospital.

 

[jlbraun]

I second posting a movie.

 

[sacp81170a]

I'd try the Fox Labs. Supposedly anything over 3,000,000 SHU's is more than the human body can feel anyway, but why not try the worst? If you do go through with this, you might want to get someone to trade off with you for training's and safety's sake.

Proceed thusly:

1. Have partner spray a 1-second burst, aiming at the tip of your nose from 7-10 feet away. The OC will begin to take effect in about 3-7 seconds, if you're gonna feel it at all. Some people don't, but they are few and far between.

2. Before the pain hits, try to do something useful like drawing and firing an Airsoft gun at a target. Grab your cell phone and pretend to call 911(make sure you don't accidentally *do* this).

3. When the pain hits, have your partner try to get the Airsoft gun away from you. Retain the gun.

4. Curse, howl, cry for momma. You're gonna want to do this anyway, so let it all out, along with the tears, snot, and whatever you had for your last meal if you gag on the mucus.

5. Dunk your head in the 5 gallon plastic bucket of water you have handy(you did remember this, didn't you?). Lather your entire head with baby shampoo that's had about a teaspoon of sugar added to the bottle. Don't worry about where the OC hit, just do your whole head.

6. Have your partner spray you off with the garden hose. Open your eyes as much as possible and let the water in.

7. Dunk your head again. Don't forget, ya gotta come up to breathe(that bucket will become your bestest buddy for the next 45 minutes or so).

8. When your lungs start screaming for breath louder than your eyes, nose and sinuses are screaming in pain, come up and breathe. Repeat the appropriate portions of steps 5 and 6. Get some shampoo in your eyes, too. It'll help cut the OC.

9. Reflect on the fact that your buddy will be hurtin' as much as you are. Make sure the batteries on the video camera don't run down before it's his turn.

It'll take about an hour and a half to get "semi-normal". Remember when you take your next shower, make sure you don't let the water from washing your head and hair come in contact with your 'sensitive' areas or you'll have a reason to repeat the first part of step 4.

Good luck, and let us know what you think.

Oh, make sure you do this *outside*. If you do it in the garage, everybody's gonna get a dose of OC.

 

[cosine]

I've heard it said that is you want to know what it feels like but without all the pain and agony put a little bit on a q-tip or something and then rub it on your face or gently brush your nostrils and under your eyes.

I've also heard of spraying a mist of the stuff in the air and walking into it to get the experience.

Would one of those ideas actually work? Or is it not recommended and instead go for the burst of the stuff to the face straight from the bottle like sacp81170a outlined?

 

[crofrog]

been there done that, it was fun.

Make sure you fight through it. I personally just let it air dry no water, and used some decon wipes.

Chris

 

[pax]

Nick ~

The step-by-step by sacp81170a looks about right.

Don't do this without a buddy. There's a (very slim but not non-existent) chance that you may need transportation to a hospital if you have any sort of allergic reaction to the spray.

Better to take a class where they have all the decontam stuff set out for you and are prepared to cope with (really, really, really rare) bad reactions ... and have people around who are experienced enough with it to know what's a normal reaction and what's not.

By the way, that very slim but not non-existent chance of a bad reaction to the stuff is one of many reasons why you should not carry it at all if you haven't ever sampled it. If you use it at all, you will get some cross contamination. You need to know how your personal body reacts to the stuff so you know whether carrying it is a good idea for you.

pax

 

[CNYCacher]

Better Idea

The hottest pepper in the world is the Habanero. It is rated at between 300,000 and 400,000 SHUs. You can find them at almost any grocey store. They are usually a bright orange and pretty small. Take one and cut a slice out of it in a wedge shape. Hold your eyelid open and touch the point of it to your eyeball.

When you get done hopping around hollering, try to imagine that pain times 10 all over your face and in your mouth, both eyes, and up your nose.

 

[Pistol Toter]

OK!! Don't laugh!!! But I accidentally shot myself with Freeze+P several months ago. No I didn't get a full blast to the face but a healthy, no make that unhealthy dose of wind borne blow back. Trust me, you don't want any part of that stuff. Freeze+p is what our local LEO's carry. It was all I could do to breath. The skin on the face instantly feels like a very severe sun burn and the eyes are watering should I say CRYING to the point of making navigation difficult. A one second blast of that stuff to the face would be incapciatating and if the person had a respiratory problem it might be fatal unless something was done to clear the air ways. It is funny as whiz now but it was not funny when it happened. To make it even worse, after about 15 minutes I begin to get over this bout of stupidity, I had washed my hands real well, I thought. I sat down here at the computer and began to work; my left eye begin to itch and reached under my glasses to rub my eye, and you guessed it. :banghead: I hadn't got it of my hands. Back to bath room to bury my face in the lavatory again. When I finally got the nerve to tell my family about this, they were all rolling on the floor in laughter. What a knuckle head thing to do. So unless your a masochist, DON"T DO IT. Now go a head and laugh your backside off.

 

[sacp81170a]

and have people around who are experienced enough with it to know what's a normal reaction and what's not.

*Excellent* point. When I went through OC training, we had some guys panic because they couldn't believe how painful it was gonna be. Having experienced trainers(those guys have to get sprayed every year to maintain their qual as trainers) around to evaluate them was essential. No one had to go to the ER, but we were prepared for it. Good advice.

 

[Taurus 66]

Why would anyone want to spray themselves with OC?? I just don't .....

..... I'm missing something here.

 

[orangeninja]

I have to be honest, when I got hit with 10% OC, it took me completely off guard. I had no idea how I would react and had NO IDEA how painful it would be. It hurt like a jock-strap full of bees..........but on the face.

I recommend you see what it is like BEFORE carrying it, you will get some on you if you ever use it and if you are like most people, you will panic the moment it kicks in unless you've been there and lived through it. Don't let the first time be in the middle of a fight.

It only lasts about 20 to 30 minutes and the hose with bucket and baby shampoo is essential. Decon wipes are good too, but not as good. Video tape it not only for laughs, but so that you can watch yourself and learn how you react.........at the time this is happening your reaction will probably not be the focus of your brain.

It is surprisingly painful and can cause panic, but just keep reminding yourself that no "real" bodily harm is happening to you, it is not permanent and you will not need to go to the hospital or wear a band-aide.......unless of course you are one of a very small minority that has a allergic reaction....which you will swear you are having at the time, but likely you are not..........it's essential to have a friend there and it's good for that friend to know what OC looks like.

If you are having trouble breathing..........make sure you are not under water or being hosed. If you are in clean air with no water around and cannot breathe, call 911.

If the effects last more than 45 minutes and no let up........call 911......though for some brands an even hour is more realistic. If you crap your pants or loose control of your bladder, call 911 (seriously).

Just some tips. Personally I wouldn't worry about someone spraying me with OC again because I've been there before..........I HATE it and would not do so for fun, but for scientific purposes and large sums of cash, I'd consider it.

 

[NukemJim]

If you crap your pants or loose control of your bladder, call 911 (seriously).

Just curious, why call 911 due to loss of continence?

I am not disagreeing, I just do not understand

Thank you

NukemJim

 

[orangeninja]

Because it's not supposed to happen.......
I don't know, it was just one of the criteria we were told and it's in the instructor documentation. Could have something to do with symptoms of allergic shock........but don't quote me on it.

 

[Taurus 66]

"Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, hey!
Macho, macho man (macho man)
I've got to be, a macho man
Macho, macho man
I've got to be a macho!"

 

[pax]

Taurus66 ~

By the way, that very slim but not non-existent chance of a bad reaction to the stuff is one of many reasons why you should not carry it at all if you haven't ever sampled it. If you use it at all, you will get some cross contamination. You need to know how your personal body reacts to the stuff so you know whether carrying it is a good idea for you.

pax

 

[orangeninja]

Knowing how you are going to react is not being macho. It's really hard to be macho when you have a 3 foot string of snot hanging off the front of your face.

 

[NickBallard]

One of the main reasons I want to spray myself

One of the main reasons I want to spray myself is to see what it's like. I want to see how much faith I can put into it for personal protection and where the boundaries of what it can do starts and ends, if you know what I mean.

Also, I've got myself very indirectly a few times and was curious what it's like directly. I've used pepper spray on dogs because of a past job I've had; never got the stuff on me when spraying the dogs, but other ways.

1. One time I had one of those fogger pepper spray pens (I don't like the pen type anymore because you can't activate it as fast). No one else was in the apartment I was in and wouldn't be for hours. I wasn't thinking back then, so I started spraying around the room to see what it was like (remember this was a fogger and I was indoors!) I immediately started coughing and had to run outside. I was still coughing when outside (nothing happened to my eyes). I then wanted to wash some of my throat down with milk, so I ran back inside to grab my gallon of milk. It was quite unpleasant with all the stuff in the air, but I was able to get to the refridgerator and then I ran like crazy to the door. This told me that if you get someone INDIRECTLY, it won't be pleasant, but they won't be incapacitated if they have more determination than someone who just wants an easy victim. However, I didn't get myself directly, so I'm sure that may be a different matter.

2. One time I had another pepper spray pen unit and didn't put the pen cap on tightly enough. It fell off when in my pocket (the safety) and when I was moving around in the backseat of a car with friends. I started to feel a warm feeling. Then it started to get warmer! After a while it felt like my leg was burning. I asked everyone else if they could smell anything (I could at the time), but they couldn't. Then after a while everyone had to roll their windows down and we were a half-hour from home. (another reason I don't like the pen sprays anymore) However, since my second pen spray was a stream instead of fog and it was in my pocket when it happened, it wasn't too bad for everyone else, just unpleasant. I had a large red mark down the side of that leg for about a day and a half (because it was on me for so long before I could wash it off and change pants). It also takes so many washes to get it out of your clothes.

3. One time I was touching the nozzle of my flip-top pepper spray (I had washed it off with soap and water after test spraying it the day before). I then went to take my contacts out and even washed my hands with soap and hot water. When I was taking a contact out I felt a sharp pain and I seriously thought that I had tore my eye at the time. Then after a while I realized it was the pepper spray residue. That thought made it easier in trying to get my contact out of my eye, but was still difficult.

So I'm wondering what it's like to get it directly. If I'm going to use it, I want understand how it's going to operate and its boundaries.

 

[ShackleMeNot]

It won't be fun but you'll learn a lot about your spray and your reaction to it.

 

[Creeping Incrementalism]

I've seen pepper spray used on reality police shows many times (cop v. robber, and cop v. cop, intentionally and unintentionally), and I frankly wouldn't put any faith in it at all against a determined attacker, though it will least distrct them a little. I personally think throwing a cop of hot coffee would be as effective.

 

[sacp81170a]

I've seen pepper spray used on reality police shows many times (cop v. robber, and cop v. cop, intentionally and unintentionally), and I frankly wouldn't put any faith in it at all against a determined attacker, though it will least distrct them a little. I personally think throwing a cop of hot coffee would be as effective.

Having been on both ends of OC, I respectfully disagree. You only get to see a few edited scenes that last maybe 10 or 20 seconds at a time on the cop shows. If pepper spray works on you(and it works on 99.9% of the population) it's gonna ruin you for 45 minutes to an hour at least. Not being disrespectful, but you should try it sometime.

In its place, as part of a force continuum, OC works as advertised. I wouldn't rely on it as my only option, but I'd sure rather get in a fist fight with some big bruiser after he's been partially incapacitated by OC than when he has full use of his faculties. YMMV, but I been around *that* block more than once.

It's really hard to be macho when you have a 3 foot string of snot hanging off the front of your face.

LOL. Plus, it makes it really hard to get a date...

 

[orangeninja]

sacp..........ditto.

 

[Taurus 66]

Knowing how you are going to react is not being macho. It's really hard to be macho when you have a 3 foot string of snot hanging off the front of your face.

I apologize. My perceptions about people wanting to deliberately spray themselves just struck me as rather odd. At first I imagined a group of men standing around watching a ball game, drinking beer, and taking turns blasting each other like it would be something fun to do on a Saturday afternoon while the wives were out shopping. I didn't know there was any real logic behind this. It's beginning to make sense.

 

[Soybomb]

I've always wondered, does it "stick" to contact lenses? If you get a little backspray and you're wearing contacts do you have any chance of relief without ditching your lenses?