‘Thunderclap' Headache Strikes Man Who Ate Carolina Reaper Pepper: Doctors

Thunderclap headaches come on vast and strong and doctors take them very seriously

The Carolina Reaper is billed as the world's hottest pepper, apparently so hot it may cause "thunderclap" headaches in people who eat one, NBC News reported.

That's based on a new medical journal write-up of the case of a 34-year-old man who was rushed to the hospital from a pepper-eating contest. He had an excrutiating headache triggered by an unusual blood vessel condition, reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome. 

"His symptoms began with dry heaves but no vomiting immediately after participation in a hot pepper contest where he ate one 'Carolina Reaper,' the hottest chili pepper in the world," the doctors wrote in the publication British Medical Journal's Case Reports.

Thunderclap headaches come on vast and strong and doctors take them very seriously, since they can be a sign of stroke or brain hemorrhage. Doctors diagnosed the man with the blood vessel syndrome, which hadn't been linked to eating hot peppers before.

Contact Us