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Pepper Spray - Face The Facts
Pepper spray's main component, Capsaicin, comes from peppers and it is the component that gives peppers their "heat". When you pepper spray an assailant in the face, and aim for the eyes in particular, the human body's reaction is instantaneous. The eyes close up quickly, causing temporary blindness and, as the sprayed individual cannot see, panic sets in.
When the pepper spray hits the face, the mucus membranes in the mouth, nasal area, eyes as well as breathing passages react defensively to the Capsaicin burn. The human body begins to immediately produce tears, a runny nose, saliva and coughing to flush the chemical from the inflamed tissue within the airways and lungs. If the sprayed person tries to rub their eyes in hopes of getting relief, it makes the situation worse as the Capsaicin penetrates deeper into the skin pores and the burning will become more intense.
To give you a point of reference, the pepper spray produces the identical burning feeling you get when you bite into a hot Jalapeno or Habanera pepper that you mistakenly take to be just another vegetable. I recently had such an experience at a Chinese Buffett, and the unexpected burst of heat, pain and discomfort left me teary eyed, drippy nosed and gulping several glasses of water.
Escalating that experience to a blast of spray to the face, it is totally understandable how it will incapacitate someone, with the effects lasting from half an hour to forty five minutes. These symptoms are temporary leaving no lasting damage.
The most important part is that it gives you time to escape from the immediate threat to seek help or get into your car and get away from the area.
Pepper Spray Strength
There are a lot of brand names out there with many claiming their product is the hottest, baddest, meanest pepper spray around. To eliminate the advertising and marketing influence, it is strongly recommended that emphasis be placed on unbiased results from animpartial laboratory that tests the heat factor of the pepper when it is actually leaves the can. The Certified Heat Rating (CHR) is the measurement of precisely how potent the pepper spray is going to be when it makes contact with your assailant.
Streetwise 18 Pepper Spray is Laboratory Certified to have a CHR of more than 180,000 SHU (Skoville Heat Units) establishing it as one of the hottest, most powerful and effective sprays available on the market. They are certified by the same independent laboratory which has been used by pepper spray manufacturers and the US Government for over 40 years. For comparison, the same lab. evaluated competing brands and found the heat rating average to be 123,00 SHU. This makes the Streetwise 18 products more than 46% hotterthan others in the market!
The Advantages of Pepper Spray as a Self-Defense Product
Simple and Easy to Use - Pepper sprays are easy to use, just one quick press aimed at the face of the attacker and that's it. As easy as it is to use, any advantage that you have is completely lost if you cannot access it quickly when the need arises.
It is imperative that you take time to practice accessing it quickly, specially if you keep it in your pocket, or carry it in your hand bag or purse. Should you ever need it, you don't want to waste critical seconds trying to dig around for it. Not being able to access it immediately can cost you very dearly.
Take time to acquaint yourself with the unit you have purchased, specifically become familiar with the safety feature provided to prevent accidental discharge. Again, when you need to protect yourself, that is not the time to find out that you cannot, or do not know how to turn the safety off.
Long Lasting - If you have sprayed your attacker directly in the eyes, or other vulnerable area, that individual will be incapacitated from twenty to forty five minutes giving you time to leave the immediate area and/or seek help.
If Pepper Spray 18 is not enough to make you feel safe and able to defend yourself, there's no reason why you can't supplement it with another self-defense product such as a stun gun. Stay alert, be prepared and stay safe by avoiding potentially dangerous situations. Prevention is always the best solution.
You can visit http://protectyourselfstaysafe.com/ to explore the various non-lethal options that are available to protect yourself, your loved ones and your home.
The configuration of pepper spray containers has evolved over the years, and is available disguised as a pen, perfume bottle, lipstick as well as being able to be attached to a keychain. For an extra measure of security, police grade pepper spray is available in the Streetwise 23 Series.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Schimanski
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