The Carolina Reaper, the world's hottest chili pepper, can produce painful thunderclap headaches by narrowing the brain arteries when eaten, according to BMJ Case Reports.
The notorious Carolina Reaper chili pepper was linked to one case cited by the medical journal of causing reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome, or RCVS, a temporary artery narrowing in the brain often accompanied by thunderclap headaches, BMJ Case Reports said.
The report detailed the case of an unidentified 34-year-old man suffering from thunderclap headache who was admitted to a hospital after taking part in a hot pepper eating contest, even though he had no significant medical history.
His symptoms started with dry heaves and developed intense neck and occipital head pain that became holocephalic, the report said.
From a CT angiography, according to BMJ Case Reports, doctors saw he had no aneurysm and made a presumptive diagnosis of thunderclap headache secondary to reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome.
The report said the patient improved with supportive care and found his brain had returned to normal in a follow-up CT angiography five weeks later.
This is not the first time warnings have been issued about the ultra-hot Carolina Reaper. The HuffPost wrote in 2016 that eating the Carolina Reaper or any ultra-hot pepper can occasionally lead to health problems like shortness of breath, vomiting, seizures and, in a few extreme cases in children, death.
Dr. Sanjeev Jain, of the Columbia Asthma & Allergy Clinic told HuffPost that chili peppers contain a compound called capsaicin, which stimulates nerve endings that tell your brain it's feeling heat or pain.
Painful sensations caused by capsaicin can cause stress or anxiety-related symptoms like shortness of breath and vomiting, especially in people with asthma, Jain told the website.
"There's some concern that hot peppers may cause asthma attacks, but that's never been proven," Jain said. "It's more likely a stress-induced reaction."