Is Pepper Spray Effective?

Pepper spray is supposed to be sprayed on the opponent’s face from a little distance. As soon as the spray touches the face of the attacker, his eyes, nose and ears start having severe inflammation. The OC content of the pepper spray is an inflammatory agent. The person cannot open his/her eyes for a few minutes and is disabled to see anything. The effect of pepper spray remains acute for 20-25 minutes after which it starts subsiding. However, pepper spray does not cause any permanent damage.

The main active agent in Pepper spray is OC (Oleoresin Capsicum). The effectiveness of OC depends on its derivative. The source of OC decides how effective the pepper spray is. The scoville heat unit (SHU) rating indicates the effectiveness of pepper spray. Thus, it is better to buy a pepper spray with high SHU. A standard spray contains 2 million SHU. The SHU rating indicates the amount of capsaicin in OC which makes the pepper spray hot.

Pepper spray is also effective on people who are drunk, drug addicts and psychotics unlike tear gas which might not act in the following situations. Also, tear gas takes almost 5 – 30 seconds to act. Pepper spray on the other hand takes only 2-3 seconds to disable a person. Pepper spray has a long lasting effect because it is oil based and difficult to remove from the skin easily.

Pepper spray can also be used as animal repellent. It is effective in repelling dogs and wild animals. The use of pepper spray to counter bears in Canada is very common. So, while you go out for jogging and a dog creates trouble, you can defend yourself by spraying pepper on its face.

Although, pepper spray is a very popular way of self defense, taking a few steps will ensure that it is effective when used on the assailant.

Tips For Increasing The Effectiveness Of Pepper Spray:

• Buy a pepper spray with at least 2 million SHU.
• Buy the size and shape that suits your need. Females can buy lipstick pepper spray that is easy to keep in bag and no one can identify that it is actually a pepper spray.
• Practice using the pepper spray so that you have knowledge about effectively using it when an actual attack takes place.
• The effectiveness of pepper spray reduces with time. So if you use an expired pepper spray, then it might not be as effective as a new one.
• Buy pepper spray from a reputed brand that has a standard SHU rating.
• To be most effective the pepper spray should be directly sprayed in the eyes of the assailant.
• After the first round of spraying, wait for a few seconds and spray another round of 2-3 bursts in order to assure that the assailant remains unconscious for some time.