What Happens If You Get Salt Or Pepper In Your Eyes
Accidentally got pepper in your eyes while cooking? It happens, and it burns. Both salt and pepper can irritate, burn, and even cause small abrasions on the surface of your eye, especially if you rub them.
Here’s what to do:
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Wash your hands immediately to avoid adding more irritants.
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Remove contact lenses, if you’re wearing them.
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Flush your eyes with lukewarm water for 5 to 10 minutes.
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Blink often while flushing to help dislodge any remaining particles.
Once you’ve done that, call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222 for expert advice. It’s free, confidential, and available 24/7.
👁️ Want more first-aid tips for eye exposures? Check our eye exposure first-aid page here!
Transcript with visual descriptions
Visual: Thumbnail with an image of salt and pepper on a dark surface and the title “What happens if you get salt and pepper in your eyes?”. The Missouri Poison Center logo is visible.
Visual: Person 1 is lying on a wooden table, looking up at a hand grinding pepper directly above his face. A comment bubble on screen shows a user’s question.
Sound: Pepper grinding sound effect.
Person 1: What happens if I get pepper in my eyes? Nothing good, I’ll tell you that.
Visual: A close-up of a hand sprinkling coarse salt.
Person 1: Both salt and pepper
Visual: A close-up of a hand grinding pepper from a green-capped grinder.
Person 1: can cause irritation, pain, and burning,
Visual: Person 1 in a studio room.
Person 1: and if you rub your eyes, they can cause abrasions on the surface of your eye. If you’ve been a-salt-ed by table spice, here’s what you do:
Visual: Hands are shown washing with soap and water in a white sink.
Person 1: First, wash your hands.
Visual: A close-up of an eye with a hand removing a contact lens.
Person 1: Remove contacts if you’re wearing them.
Visual: A man is shown flushing his eyes under a showerhead.
Person 1: Then flush your eyes with lukewarm water for 5-10 minutes.
Visual: Person 1 in a studio room.
Person 1: Try to blink as much as possible while flushing your eyes to try to get any granules that may be in there out.
Visual: White screen with the red “Missouri Poison Center” logo and the phone number “1-800-222-1222”. Text “Open 24/7!” appears.
Person 1: Then, call your local poison center at 1-800-222-1222 for further treatment advice. The number for the poison center is the same anywhere in the US. It’s fast, free, and confidential!
Visual: An orange “OPEN 24 HRS” neon sign is shown.
Person 1: And we’re open 24/7.
Visual: Person 1 in a studio room.
Person 1: And if YOU have a question about potential poisons that you’d like to see us make a video about, leave us a comment below!
