OC Pepper Spray
What OC Stands For
O.C. stands for the active ingredient in Pepper Spray: Oleoresin Capsicum. It is extracted from the hottest peppers on the planet. It is an oily extract generally taken from ceyenne peppers. OC will not lose potency with age and will not cause any lasting harm to its victims. Due to the fact that OC is an inflammatory, rather than an irritant, it is effective in stunning attackers who feel no pain such as drunks and drug abusers.
Other Pepper Spray Varieties
OC has replaced other sprays that go by the acronyms CN and CS as the most popular for protection and the spray of choice for police since around 1975. OC pepper spray is the most distressing of the pepper spray genres, but it will only be effective if aimed directly at the target. Unlike OC pepper spray , other genres can fill a room with a horrible pepper fog.
OC is Oily
Pepper spray is oily - so oily that it is not very soluble in water. It does not wash out of hair and skin very quickly, but causes no damage to either.
The specific makeup of the oily extract is 1) vegetable oils, 2) carotenoids - a red vegetable pigment,
and 3) capsaicinoids which are the pungent compounds
Judging Concentration of OC
The strongest concentrations are 15% active ingredients and rated at 2 million scoville heat units. In OC pepper spray, the high scoville heat rating is more important than the percentage of ingredients.
The percentage of pepper in the pepper spray is an important factor in determining its potency and also to determine how effective it will be. OC is usually sold in three different percentages of concentration: 5 percent, 10 percent, 15 percent, or even higher. An even more important measurement of the pepper spray potency or power is heat units, commonly abbreviated as S.H.U - Scoville Heat Units.
A misconception about pepper spray is that the greater the OC percentage, the more effective the spray.
This is generally untrue. The most efficient and effective pepper sprays have an oc percentage from 5% to 10%.
The thinner the solution, the faster is penetrates the mucous membranes and affects the eyes.
The OC Pepper Concentration We Offer
We offer a pepper spray that is 10% concentrate and and 2 million S.H.U. - very powerful.
OC Pepper Spray in the Media
Some media members have speculated that police force combined with pepper spray have resulted in permanent physical damage to the lungs of those people opposing the police. MANY scientific studies have shown this to be false. OC pepper spray has proven to be a temporary respiratory inhibitor. Not a permanant one.
Studies Prove No Long-term Effects
Here are the results of one scientific study on the topic of OC pepper spray inhalation:
OC exposure and inhalation do not pose a risk for respiratory asphyxiation, even when combined with physical force and increased breathing patterns. Scientist saw no difference between the placebo (control) group and the OC group in the restraint position. There was some drop-off in circulatory function, but not enough to be a medical concern.
OC pepper spray exposure did result in an increase in blood pressure - most likely due to the discomfort and pain associated with OC. The broader clinical consequences of this fact remain unknown.
Inhalation Effects of OC Pepper Spray
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), in conjunction with the Office of Comm. Orient. Policing Services (COPS), backed a study by clinical experts at the University of California-San Diego to analyze the effects of OC exposure and physical struggle on respiratory and circulatory function among 3 dozen volunteers recruited from a law enforcement training school.
Scientists found no evidence that OC pepper spray inhalation caused respiratory problems in subjects with a history of lung disease, smoking, or use of an inhalor for athsma. In this group, OC exposure had no effect on pulmonary function in the sitting or restraint positions. Furthermore, there was no sign of hypercapnia, hypoxemia, or hypoventilation after OC was breathed.
OC exposure showed no evidence of pulmonary
dysfunction, hypoxemia, or hypoventilation in any of the bodily positions tested. The same results also applied to the people who were overweight and had respiratory challenges of their own. This study suggests that OC inhalation and exposure do NOT cause respiratory injury and should not cause an increased risk of respiratory compromise or suffocation. This gives credence to the large retrospective field studies that have found no evidence that OC causes significant harm to the lungs.
OC vs. Tear Gas
OC pepper spray is a better option than "lacrimators" such as tear gas. A lacrimator is a compound that
creates tearing of the eyes. Tear gas is not effective against animals, and can cause permanent blindness
in himans. Tear gas is much more toxic than OC Pepper spray and clearly a more dangerous alternative to
the entirely toxin free OC pepper spray.
What is Tear Gas?
There are three major chemicals used as tear gases:
The first two are CS and CN, short for orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile and chloroacetophenone, respectively.
A third, code named CR (dibenz(b,f)-1,4-oxazepin), has not reached civilians for use.
Both CS and CN tear gas are fabricated chemicals known as lachrymators. A lachrymator is a substance that produces severe tearing.
At standard temperature and pressure, these chemicals are actually white crystals with fairly low vapor pressures, not gasses, and they are not very soluble in water. In order to disperse them, they are suspended in a liquid carrier and aerosolized.
OC Pepper Spray is Safe
Conclusion: OC Pepper spray has short-term effects only, and does NOT hurt the breathing function of the victim.
