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If You Eat A Really Hot Pepper, Brace For A 'Thunderclap' Headache

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm David Greene. The other night, a bartender said to me, hey, try my fiery hot margarita. It's made with Guatemalan chiltepin peppers. I did. I sweat it all over his bar. I had not read a story out this week about a guy in Michigan. As part of a contest, he ate a Carolina Reaper, one of the world's hottest peppers. He started dry heaving and had thunderclap headaches, which can signal bleeding in the brain. The guy's OK, but doctors warn that crazy peppers can do this - not worth it. It's MORNING EDITION.

[POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: In this story, we incorrectly identify the state where the chili eating contest took place as Michigan. It was actually New York state.] Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Corrected: April 12, 2018 at 12:00 AM EDT
In this story, we incorrectly identify the state where the chili eating contest took place as Michigan. It was actually New York state.
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