Re: How long does it take to recover from Vertigo? (Cayenne pepper)

Tabasco sauce provokes benign positional vertigo attacks in me roughly 6-12 hours after consumption. The first time this happened followed a meal heavy with the sauce, I woke up in the middle of the night screaming with my first vertigo attack. It happened because I turned my head while sleeping. After some experimentation as to the cause, I put a few drops of tabasco on my tongue and reexperienced the effect. This may be due to capsacin, because a type of canned tuna flavored with cayenne peppers (the main component of Tabasco) does the same thing. I have since stopped eating peppers of all kinds - the first and second attack was in 1992 or so. The flavored tuna provoked it six months ago. Cayenne is the shared component of the two foods. I've seen next to nothing about this in the medical literature, so I presume it is idiopathic, but it would not surprise me that what you describe is a related effect. I think Aspartame does the same thing to me.

Capsacin binds to, stimulates and in high doses is toxic to neurons (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7617165). Putting a large amount in a location near to nerves of the inner ear would produce a high local concentration. It is also thought to enhance the absorption of other substances (in a manner similar to DMSO) and has been shown to have both pro and anti-carcinogenic effects. But, I think, just a persons natural response to something is the best measure of whether or not it is good for you. Capsacin is most definitely an acquired taste. It is an irritant. From that standpoint, putting it on your skin is unlikely to be a healthy thing to do. Tweet