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What's
the difference between the types of Defense Sprays on the market?
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What are the effects of
pepper spray on a person?
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What
does "Scoville heat unit" mean?
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How many
Scoville heat units should a Pepper spray have to be effective?
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Why are
some sprays labeled 5%, some 10%, some 17% etc. what's the difference?
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Which
Pepper Spray is right for me?
What's the difference between the types of Defense Sprays on the market?
There are basically three
different types of Defense sprays.
1. CN (tear gas) works as an
irritant and causes severe tearing of the eyes, sensitivity to light, and a
burning sensation to exposed skin.
2. CS
(Orthochlorobenzylidenemalononitrile) <even I can't pronounce that one>. CS is
an irritant much like CN. It causes burning of the eyes, irritation of the skin,
and to some degree, respiratory distress. When exposed to enough of it, it may
also cause severe vomiting.
Because the above types of sprays are
classified as irritants, they have been known to be ineffective against people
who are psychotic, under the influence of narcotics or alcohol, or individuals
that are highly resistant to pain.
3. OC (Oleoresin Capsicum) OC is basically a
highly concentrated extract of hot chili peppers. Unlike CN and CS, it is an
inflammatory agent not an irritant. It affects the mucous membranes of the eyes,
nose, throat and lungs causing temporary blindness, respiratory distress and to
some degree, a severe burning sensation. Because it is an inflammatory agent
instead of an irritant, it is highly effective against individuals who are
psychotic, under the influence of drugs or resistant to pain.
Because of its effectiveness, OC is the most
commonly used ingredient in defensive sprays today.
What are the effects of pepper
spray on a person?
As an inflammatory agent, Pepper
Spray affects the soft tissue and mucous membranes, causing them to become
inflamed.
The general reaction from being
sprayed in the face is...
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The capillaries in the eyes
will swell up causing a lot of pain, uncontrollable tears and temporary
blindness.
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The mucous membranes in the
nose, throat and lungs will also swell, making it difficult to breath. And
the victim will feel a severe burning sensation.
These effects will generally last
about 20 to 30 minutes (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less)
It's difficult for me to describe
exactly what it feels like with mere words... But I'll try to give you a
visual...
Think of the last time you bit into
some really spicy food, or a really hot chili pepper, or tried some extra hot
Tabasco sauce...You can try this right now if you want.
You take a small bite... start
chewing... and in about 2 seconds your lips and tongue start to get hot. Then it
feels like your tongue is swelling, and your eyes begin to tear up. You may even
start to sweat a little as you feel your face going flush. Drinking water only
spreads it around and makes it worse. You start to choke a little and your
friends are either asking you if you’re ok, or they’re laughing their butts off
at how silly you look running around the room in circles.
After a few minutes, things start
to cool off and you’re just glad it’s over.
Now take that sensation, times it
by a couple hundred, and rub it all over your face, in your eyes, up your nose
and in your mouth. That might give you some idea of what it feels like to be
shot in the face with pepper spray.
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What does Scoville heat unit mean?
Scoville heat unit (SHU) is a scale used for determining how hot a hot pepper
is. It was first developed around 1912 by a pharmacist named Wilbur Scoville.
The Scoville scale is the accepted standard for measuring chemical heat.
Even
though there are now more advanced methods for determining the exact amount of
chemical heat in a chili pepper, the scale is still called the Scoville heat
unit scale in honor of its inventor. To give you an idea of the ratings...
A Sweet Bell
Pepper has a rating of 0 SHU
A Jalapeno
Pepper has a rating of between 3000 and 8000 SHU
Tabasco Sauce
and Cayenne Pepper have a rating of between 30,000 and 60,000 SHU
A Habanero
Pepper has a rating of Between 100,000 and 350,000 SHU
Our Defensive sprays have a rating
of at least 2,000,000 SHU
How many Scoville heat units should a Pepper spray have to be effective?
There is still a bit of debate on
this question. Obviously, the more SHU, the hotter the Spray is. But how hot is
hot enough?
Most, if not all legitimate
sources will agree that a quality defensive spray should be at least 1,500,000
SHU to be highly effective.
There are some brands on the market
that boast 7,500,000 SHU which causes some people to think, the hotter the
better, right? It's true that the hotter the pepper spray - the more devastating
the effects, but there is a growing number of chemists that are warning against
sprays with a rating above 5,000,000 SHU because it may cause some permanent
tissue damage.
Many of you are thinking, so what?
if a bad guy attacks me they deserve permanent tissue damage to remind them not
to do it again.
I couldn't agree more, but the flip
side of that coin is if you or someone you're with happens to get caught in any
splash-back from the spray, it could be a very unfortunate situation.
As a general rule, we recommend a
spray around 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 SHU.
Why are some sprays labeled 5%, some 10%, some 17% etc. what's the difference?
When talking about pepper sprays, the % of OC is relatively unimportant. This
simply means the percentage of Oleoresin Capsicum that went into the formula.
The
thing is you can have 5%, 10% ,17%, or even 25% OC and still have the same
Scoville heat units in the spray. Different batches of hot peppers have
different amounts of chemical heat right from the garden, so weaker peppers need
a higher concentration in the formula to achieve the same amount of heat.
Remember, when purchasing a defensive spray always go by the listed heat units
and not the % of OC.
Which Pepper Spray is right for me?
There is no single answer to this
question. It all depends on your situation.
Some of our most popular sellers
are the keychain pepper sprays which allow you to
carry your defensive spray with you all the time without being too obvious.
These sprays are easily accessible and they're not big and bulky.
On the other hand, we sell a great
deal of larger pepper sprays to security and law
enforcement personnel.
There really is no one size fits
all answer for this one, but if you'd like to email us at
info@naselfdefense.com
and give us your situation, we will be happy to recommend a product for you.
