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What is Pepper Spray ?
OC is a derivative of HOT CAYENNE
PEPPERS and is the newest defensive spray agent. It is not an irritant like the
tear gases, but an inflammatory agent. Contact with mucous membranes (eyes,
nose, throat and lungs) will cause IMMEDIATE dilation of the capillaries of the
eyes, resulting in TEMPORARY BLINDNESS and instant inflammation of the breathing
tube tissues, cutting off ALL BUT LIFE – SUPPORT BREATHING. OC will not
deteriorate with age and unlike the tear gasses, WILL NOT CAUSE LASTING AFTER
EFFECTS.
One of the biggest misconceptions about pepper spray is
that the higher the percentage, the hotter and better it works. In most cases
this could not be further from the truth. Most of the best, fastest
incapacitating sprays in the world are from 2%-10%. The lighter the fluid, the
faster it penetrates the membranes. The percentage has nothing to do with the
actual SHU or "hot" in the spray. Also, thicker sprays can inflame the
skin area more and last longer with this unnecessary inflammation. A good spray
will put the attacker down and out allowing you to escape or take control of the
situation.
OC has proven itself to be the
ABSOLUTE BEST DETERRENT available for attacking dogs and wild animal control.
Another advantage of OC is that it is not volatile and will not emit a lot of
fumes like tear gases.
The term OC ( oleoresin capsicum
) is a horticultural term which refers to chili peppers. There are many
different kinds of chili peppers ranging from jalapenos, chiletpin, and cayenne
to habaneros. They all have one thing in common. They all contain a substance
that is very powerful an alkaloid called capsaicin ( cap-say-a-sin ). Just a
single drop of tasteless and odorless capsaicin in 100,000 drops of water and
the heat can be noticeable. In fact, capsaicin can be detected by humans at one
part per ten million!
Capsaicinoids are produced by a
gland in the pepper’s placenta, which is the top partition just below the
stem. This is also where the seeds are attached. The placenta is about 16 times
stronger than any other part of the plant, any OC spray worth its salt will use
its active ingredient made from this part.
Back in 1912, a pharmacologist
named Wilbur Scoville came up with the standard for measuring the power of
capsaicin. Called the Scoville Organoleptic Test, it was needed to calculate the
temperature of peppers used in many pharmaceutical products of the time ( such
as "Heet" which was used for the relief of sore muscles, arthritis
pain and muscular sprains). Scoville measured the ground pepper into a mixture
of sugar, water and alcohol. Then, a panel of five tasters sipped the mixture
and gave it a grade; it took a majority of three to assign a value.
Today, the value is established
through high technology, a computerized method called high-performance liquid
chromatography. The pepper scale ranges from zero Scoville unit for a bell
pepper to 5,000 or so for a jalapeno to a whopping 200,00-300,000 for a habanero!
Pure capaicin is 15,000,000.
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