My daughter has a friend who is undergoing training at the police academy here in Colorado Springs. He just sent this to her about what pepper spray feels like. This is a much more personal account of the feeling instead of the usual hot, burning sensation stuff you read everywhere.
“Well, today was interesting! We got sprayed with OC spray this afternoon. OC is short for oleoresin capsicum. I had been dreading it ever since I found out we would have to be sprayed with it…if I had known how bad it would be I would have dreaded it a lot more. It was literally the WORST PAIN I have EVER experienced in my life.
In the morning we had a class about it…we learned that there’s some sort of “hotness” scale and this type of spray is at the top, 30 times hotter than a habanero pepper, if that means anything. It’s also worse than your garden variety pepper spray or mace….
So, my turn came (I drew #4 for which I was REALLY glad…I wanted to get it over with…there are 34 people in the class). So, I went and faced the guy with the spray, closed my eyes (we were able to close our eyes, however it does NOT help) and got sprayed in the face. Then I ran to the first person with the kick pad and had to open my eyes and as soon as my eyes opened–OH. MY. GOSH.—Worst pain EVER, literally. It was unbelievable. Searing and burning, especially in the left eye. So I ran over to where they’d set up some buckets with water and some hoses and tried to wash my eyes out. Someone squirted some baby soap in my hand and I rubbed it on my eyes and tried to rinse it off…and I was having trouble breathing and the pain was just UNBELIEVABLE. Then someone took my arm and just helped me walk around in the shade while I tried to blink and get my eyes open, because apparently blinking as much as possible and letting the wind hit my face. It was hard to breathe for a while, I was just taking gulping breaths.
My face felt like it was ON FIRE. My eyes were searing with pain and my face felt like someone threw boiling water on it! I walked around and fanned myself with a towel and the pain did slowly subside…and those of us who had gone earlier in the afternoon were able to help out those who drew the higher numbers and went last. I couldn’t drive home at the end of the day, though…my eyes were still stinging a little bit, and everything was so bright outside…you know how when you get your eyes dilated, you’re really sensitive to the sun? It was like that. I had my glasses on with sunglasses on top of them, but could barely open my eyes. So, I got someone to drive me home and just left my car there.
When I got home I leaned over the tub and washed my hair, face, and neck with baby soap a couple of times…when the water ran down my arms, they started burning, too. Now as I sit here at the computer my left eye will sting and start watering about every 20 minutes or so…and my left eye especially is really really red…but other than that, and being a little stuffy, I feel okay. Overall….the experience was horrible! Never want to go through that again! But now we all know what the spray is like, and we know how we react to it if we ever get sprayed on accident, or if we have to use it on someone (which happens quite a bit in the jail for people who get out of control).”
Here are some of the best Mace Brand Sprays.
PEPPER GEL
TRIPLE ACTION
PEPPER FOAM
Find out what is going on when you are not around at home or business. Get a HIDDEN SPY CAMERA