Man Burns a Hole in His Esophagus After Eating One of the Hottest Peppers

We all knew those things burned, but probably not this much. 

One man took part in a spicy burger challenge. The burger was laced with ghost pepper puree. Basically, ground up ghost peppers on top of the burger. After ingesting the burger, the man became violently ill. He was vomiting and retching violently. He was taken to the hospital for abdominal pain.

That is when doctors discovered a 2.5-centimeter hole in his esophagus. The man had to undergo surgery and spent 23 days in the hospital. Ghost peppers have a measured heat of more than 1,000,000 Scoville heat units, more than twice the strength of a habanero pepper. Doctors say the man is lucky they found the hole.

Doctors initially assumed the man's symptoms related to discomfort after his meal.The condition, caused by excessive vomiting, is rare, carries a high mortality rate and is called Boerhaave syndrome after the 18th-century physician whose patient died after vomiting up a gluttonous lunch.