Can Chillies Cause Headaches?

From watering eyes to a burning tongue, it's no secret that chillies can wreak havoc on the body. Now, scientists are claiming that the Carolina Reaper, one of the hottest chillies on the planet, can actively constrict arteries in the brain and cause severe headaches.

It all started at a recent hot-pepper-eating contest, when a man consumed an entire Carolina Reaper. The variety has been named the hottest in existence by Guinness World Records and is supposedly 200 times spicier than a jalapeno. Just minutes later and the man was hit by splitting headaches that eventually forced him to seek medical attention. While initial tests failed to detect any issues, a CT scan of blood vessels revealed that arteries in the man's brain had severely narrowed.

Chilli triggers “thunderclap headaches”

The case quickly garnered attention from researchers, who dubbed the condition reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome. It's the first known instance of the condition, with symptoms including dry heaving, as well as intense neck and occipital head pain.

Findings were published in the British Medical Journal Case Reports and explain how the hot pepper triggered a series of “thunderclap headaches”, which are usually associated with pregnancy, illicit drug use and bleeding in and around the brain. Just like thunder, they strike suddenly and bring on excruciating pain. Most peak in 60 seconds or under, though  

Fortunately, the headaches disappeared after treatment, with CT scans confirming that the arteries returned to their normal size five weeks later.

The capsaicin culprit

Kulothungan Gunasekaran, study co-author and internal medicine expert at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital pinpointed capsaicin, an active component of chilli peppers, as the key culprit. It's a known irritant and builds on previous studies that suggest hot peppers can trigger health issues like heart attacks. While the team are keen to gather more data, Gunasekaran admits that the case is extremely rare. Furthermore, he conceded that "no one’s willing to volunteer to eat this Carolina Reaper to see.”

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