Pepper spray has become such an everyday item these days that in most states you can walk into your local Walmart and buy a can. Most of us treat it a lot more casually than we would a firearm or a stun gun. There’s kind of a harmless perception of pepper spray, but that innocent looking aerosol is meant to make grown men cry!
Let’s Understand This A Bit More…
Although the terms pepper spray, mace and tear gas are quite often used interchangeably, pepper spray differs from the other two self defense sprays in its principal ingredient: oleoresin capsicum, or OC, which is a pungent oil made from fruits of the hot pepper family.
Despite being a plant oil, it packs a potent punch.
Capsaicins
Capsaicins are the organic compounds that give chillies and pepper spray their burn. If you’ve ever rubbed your eyes after handling chillies then you’ve already had a tiny taste of what Capsaicins can do.
Pepper spray combines the physical effects of concentrated chilli oil with the pressurised delivery of an aerosol can, and voila, you have one of the most popular self defense weapons on the market!
This guide will give you answers to some of the most common questions about pepper spray, like
- What is Pepper Spray?
- How does it work?
- How can it be used for self defense?
- What are the immediate effects of being pepper sprayed?
- What are the long term effects?
- What options are there and which one is best for you?
Is Pepper Spray Good For Self Defense?
Yes, pepper spray is very good and that’s precisely the reason why it has become such a popular item.
A good self defense weapon should be effective, easy to use and convenient to carry. If it can be used from a distance and is affordable it gets bonus points. Pepper spray ticks all of these boxes.
It’s been proven to stop attackers in their tracks even under difficult circumstances. Aerosols are easy to use and can be made in convenient sizes. Most pepper sprays can be used at least 6 feet away from the target, some up to 15.
In addition, pepper spray is intended to be non-lethal, so it can be purchased without hassle in most states and in theory you don’t need to worry about accidentally killing anyone, making it a “reasonable use of force” in most self defense situations.
Is It A Good Idea To Carry Pepper Spray?
Pepper spray is the ideal weapon to carry with you at all times. It’s the kind of item that you can chuck in the bottom of your back pack or bag and forget about until the occasion calls for it. If you find yourself in a situation where you think you might need to use it, get it out and walk with it ready in your hand so you don’t waste time looking for it.
The only time pepper spray might not be recommendable is if you have a medical condition that increases your sensitivity to the ingredients. If you have any conditions affecting your skin, eyes, lungs or heart check first with your physician before buying a self defense spray.
And lastly, for your own safety, be mindful of the conditions under which you carry or store your pepper spray to prevent it from exploding or leaking in your home, bag or car.
You will want to read this article to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of your own pepper spray!
Does It Really Work On Everyone?
One of the reasons pepper spray became so much more popular than other self defense sprays is because of its effectiveness.
It works on contact: there’s no lag time for the effects to kick in. Previous exposure to pepper spray does not create resistance to its effects and unlike a lot of other self defense weapons its works even on subjects that are in some way intoxicated or suffer from mental disorders.
As much as you may be tolerant to pain and irritation, if you can’t see, you can’t attack someone.
Like any chemical, the effects of Capsaicins differ from person to person, and in very rare cases, may result in no reaction at all. This may also be the case if your pepper spray is produced with a low concentration or poor grade of OC. In the majority of cases though, even a mild reaction should give you a few seconds to make your escape.
What Are The Effects Of Pepper Spray
Capsaicins cause pain and inflammation when they come into contact with skin. In particular, the thin, moist skin that lines the eyes and respiratory system is highly sensitive to their effects.
Pain and inflammation might sound kind of tolerable but really what this translates to is the eyes puffing up to the point of closing, with uncontrollable tears and burning sensation, and much the same in the lungs: the airways feel like they’re on fire and start closing up, restricting breathing and causing the subject to cough.
The overall effect can be quite scary, and in many cases quite quickly leads to panic.
How Long Will Pepper Spray Last Before It Wears Off?
The duration and intensity of the effects will vary depending on the strength of the spray used and the physical reaction of the individual it’s used on.
The acute effects of pepper spray usually wear off within an hour or two.
Temporary blindness and coughing are usually relieved within half an hour, while the burning sensation usually subsides within an hour.
The eyes may remain sensitive and weepy for a full 24 hours.
There’s not really an antidote to pepper spray. Washing the area with milk or running water might help a bit (as long as the pepper spray isn’t rubbed even further into the skin and eyes in the process), but basically you just have to get away from the fumes and wait out the pain.
Is Pepper Spray Or Pepper Gel Better?
The biggest problem with traditional pepper spray is that it can quite easily end up affecting the person who sprayed it. Pepper gel was designed to overcome this problem.
Because the OC is carried in a sticky gel rather than a liquid it doesn’t disperse as much, which has several desirable effects:
- It doesn’t mist up the whole area, which is great if you have to use your spray in a closed or crowded space.
- It’s less likely to be blown back into the face of the person using it.
- It won’t splash off the target back onto the user.
- It sticks to the target, so it’s harder to wipe off.
- It can be sprayed from further away, up to 25 feet.
- It can be aimed more precisely than a liquid spray.
Liquid pepper spray takes a bit more of a shotgun approach – if your aim is terrible you might have a better chance of hitting your target with a dispersed spray. It does also increase the amount of spray that’s breathed in, but to be honest if you have a face full of pepper goo your breathing is probably going to be quite laboured already.
Which Is More Effective, Mace Or Pepper Spray?
The term “Mace” refers to both a product and a brand. Mace the product refers to “Chemical Mace”, which, as you might imagine, was first produced by the company that owns the brand Mace.
Mace pioneered the use of chemical lacrimants in aerosols, aka tear gas, for self defense and crowd control purposes. Today, a variety of self defense products are produced under the brand name Mace and it is considered one of the market leaders in pepper spray products, which may or may not contain chemical mace as well as OC.
The lacrimants in chemical mace are ω-chloroacetophenone and o-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile, thankfully referred to as CN and CS respectively. While CS is quicker acting, more potent and less toxic than CN, the effects are not as long lasting.
Both CN and CS are irritants: they cause pain in the eyes, skin and respiratory tract, watering of the eyes and an urge to cough or choke.
OC, on the other hand, is an inflammatory agent. It doesn’t just cause a sensation (like pain, or the urge to cough) but an involuntary physical reaction: the area around the eyes swells up causing them to shut and the airways close up making breathing difficult.
Regular exposure to chemical mace can result in subjects building up a tolerance to its effects. They learn to control their reaction to the irritation. Subjects that are under the influence of drugs or alcohol have also been known to show unusual tolerance since their reactions are dimmed. The inflammatory action of pepper spray means it works regardless of how reactive the subject is.
To add to this, pepper spray acts a lot quicker than chemical mace. While the effects of pepper spray are immediate, chemical mace can take between 5 seconds and over a minute to work. Pepper spray is also thought to have less possible long-term effects than chemical mace.
Pepper spray is the best bet if you have to choose, but in most states you don’t have to. Although CN and CS are subject to slightly more control than OC, in most states pepper spray is available as a combo with CS, OC and a dye to identify when someone has been sprayed.
Can A Person Die From Pepper Spray?
At the moment pepper spray is still legally considered a non-lethal weapon, but robust clinical trials might shift that classification over to the same “less-lethal” box as stun guns and Tasers.
Although very little research is available on the topic, reports indicate that pepper spray has been directly associated with cause of death in some cases, and implicated as a contributing factor in numerous more.
People with pre-existing medical conditions and those under the influence of drugs seem to be particularly susceptible, and the likelihood of life-threatening effects is increased when pepper spray is used in combination with other restraining techniques that restrict breathing.
Can You Go Blind From Pepper Spray?
Pepper spray causes temporary, but not permanent, eye damage. Although repeated exposure can result in corneal damage, long term injury is rare and not as severe as total loss of sight.
Because pepper spray irritates the outer layer of the cornea, people with sensitive corneas such as those with diabetes, dry eyes and other medical conditions show more severe reactions to it and are more likely to suffer long term damage to their eyes if sprayed.
Can You Go To Jail For Pepper Spraying Someone?
If you pepper spray someone unnecessarily it is considered assault and you can be prosecuted as such, and that can result in jail time.
In order for an act to be considered as self defense it should involve a reasonable amount of force, which basically means you shouldn’t cause the person more harm than they were intending you, if you can avoid it. Since pepper spray is not nearly as dangerous as a gun or knife, it almost always constitutes “reasonable force” in a genuine self defense situation.
If your pepper spray foes not meet with local legal restrictions then using it, even in a legitimate self-defense situation, can constitute an illegal act. Some states restrict the size of the canister, while others restrict what ingredients are allowed and at what concentrations. Make sure you abide by restrictions in your area.
What Is The Strongest Pepper Spray Available?
There are a few ways of measuring the strength of pepper spray, but some of them can be deceptive.
- OC% might seem like a logical way of measuring how much hot stuff is in the can, but the quality of the OC can vary a lot depending on what peppers it was made from and how well it was extracted. A little bit of high quality OC can be way more effective than a lot of lower grade stuff.
- SHU, Scoville Heat Units, are a measure of how concentrated the Capsaicins are in the OC, but again, this is not really a reflection of how strong the spray is because that will depend on the dilution.
- MC, Major Capsaicins, is a measure of the concentration of Capsaicins in the final product, measured in a lab, and is the best indication of its strength.
The MC content in high quality pepper spray varies between about 0,5% and 1,5%. Bear spray contains between 1% and 2%.
Because of the inconsistencies in how the strength of pepper sprays is measured, it’s actually very difficult to identify the strongest brand on the market. Going with a reputable brand is the best way of ensuring that the product you purchase is of high quality.
