Chilli eating challenges: a health warning
Eating extremely hot chillies for a contest, a dare or a video can make you seriously ill. Health agencies have warned against it. This page sets out what they and doctors have reported.
This is general information, not medical advice. If you are unwell after eating chilli, see the section on getting help below.
What the health agencies say
In July 2026 the French food safety agency, ANSES, warned against social media challenges that involve eating extremely spicy foods or the "world's hottest" chillies. It says large amounts of capsaicin, the compound that makes chillies hot, can cause:
- pain along the digestive tract, from the mouth to the stomach;
- nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea;
- high blood pressure, a racing heart or loss of consciousness;
- skin redness after contact, and red, watering or damaged eyes;
- allergic reactions, including swelling of the face and throat.
ANSES says children and people with digestive or heart conditions are especially sensitive. Its figures for France from 2021 to 2025 show 124 people contacted a poison centre after eating spicy food. A third of them were teenagers aged 10 to 15, and 39 per cent of the cases involved a challenge. Most cases were mild, but one person with allergies had swelling of the face and throat.
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has also warned about high doses of capsaicin. In a 2024 opinion it said a risk of damage to the stomach lining can be assumed even at amounts reachable with very spicy foods, and it advised caution with extremely hot sauces and chilli extracts. [CHECK: wording against the BfR opinion.]
Cases doctors have reported
These are rare, and most people who eat a very hot chilli will only have pain and discomfort. But they show what can go wrong.
- A torn gullet. In a case reported in 2016, a man in his forties ate a burger topped with ghost pepper puree in an eating contest. He had chest pain and severe vomiting, and doctors found a tear of about 2.5 cm in his oesophagus (a condition called Boerhaave syndrome, which can follow severe retching). He needed surgery and spent 23 days in hospital. His doctors described it as a potentially life-threatening surgical emergency.
- Severe headaches. In a case reported in 2018, a man aged 34 ate a Carolina Reaper at a contest and retched straight afterwards. Over the next days he had sudden, severe, very short headaches and neck pain. Scans showed narrowing of blood vessels in his brain, and his doctors thought it was a rare condition called reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome. He recovered with supportive care, and a scan five weeks later showed the narrowing had gone. This was a single case, so it suggests a possible link and does not prove the chilli was the cause.
If you are thinking of taking part
- Do not treat very hot chillies, extract-strength sauces or "challenge" snacks as a dare. The agencies above advise avoiding these challenges.
- Do not let children or teenagers take part, and talk to young people about the risks. Keep very hot chillies and sauces away from children and pets.
- Take extra care if you have heart, breathing or digestive conditions, or allergies. If in doubt, ask a doctor first.
- Pepper spray and pure capsaicin appear on our chart only to show the top of the scale. They are not food and must never be eaten.
If you do feel unwell
- Swelling of the face or throat, or difficulty breathing: call your local emergency number straight away (for example 999 in the UK, 112 across Europe, 911 in the United States).
- A sudden severe headache, chest pain, or vomiting that will not stop: get urgent medical help. Do not wait to see if it passes. [CHECK: wording against a medical source.]
- For the burning itself: ANSES advises a fatty food such as milk, yoghurt or edible oil, or a starchy food such as bread, potatoes or rice, and advises against water or fizzy drinks because capsaicin does not dissolve in water. If pain lasts or gets worse, speak to a doctor or a poison centre.
Sources
- ANSES (French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety), news item on hot pepper challenges, 21 July 2026: anses.fr.
- BfR (German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment), opinion on capsaicin, 2024: bfr.bund.de. [CHECK: confirm this is the right document, and the opinion number and date.]
- Case report on a torn oesophagus after a ghost pepper contest, The Journal of Emergency Medicine, reported in the press in October 2016. [CHECK: find the paper, with authors, title and year.]
- Case report on headaches after a Carolina Reaper, BMJ Case Reports, April 2018. [CHECK: find the paper, with authors, title and year.]