The ironic exaggeration contained in the popular definition of “onion sorrow” in relation to the process of cutting onions, emphasizes the importance of this problem. However, the substance that causes lacrimation when the bulb is cut is not so harmless. About why watery eyes when cutting onions, and will be discussed later in the article.
Did you know? Onions can not only cause a burning sensation in the eyes and bitterness in the mouth, but also eliminate pain from bites of bees or wasps, for which they rub the onion juice into the bite.
Causes of Tears
The mechanics and chemistry of the formation of lacrimation when cutting onions are simple. A knife, cutting the bulb, violates its cellular integrity, as a result of which volatile sulfur compounds in the cells soar into the air and are transferred to the mucous membrane of the eyes. In the process of contact with the tear fluid, sulfur compounds turn into weakly concentrated sulfuric acid, which, irritating the ocular mucous membrane, causes profuse lacrimation.
Tears from onions: benefits and harms
Sulfuric acid, which acts on the ocular mucous membrane, has such a weak concentration that it is not worth talking about any harmful effects with a short-term effect on the organs of vision. Usually we are talking about the benefits and harms of profuse lacrimation, which it causes. It is worth noting that people in contact with onions do not want to cry at all and they really do not cry, although their eyes often hurt. It’s just that they have tears abundantly released.
Did you know? Libyans consume onions most of all, for each soul of the population of which 33 kg are annually. In Russia, an average citizen eats 11 kg a year, in the UK - 9.3 kg, in France - 5.6 kg of this vegetable.
- The usefulness of tears is:
- hydration of the organs of vision;
- bactericidal properties, due to which pathogenic microflora in the mucous membrane are destroyed;
- delivery of cornea nutrients;
- creating a liquid film on the eye, a kind of water lens, which improves visual acuity.
In addition to short-term and transient unpleasant sensations caused by burning in the visual organs and profuse lacrimation, there are also unpleasant consequences from this process with its frequent repetition. If a person systematically and for a long time encounters cutting this vegetable, then the abundance and regularity of irritating substances in the visual organs can lead to toxic and then chronic conjunctivitis and even to corneal erosion.
What chemical element in the onion causes tears
As the American chemist E. Blok established in the course of a serious research work to find out which substance and which acid cause tears to flow from the eyes, the lacrimator substance is the lacrimal substance in onions. This substance is released into the atmosphere when the bulb is cut, accompanied by a violation of the integrity of its cells.
Important! In no case should you rub your eyes with your fingers in this situation, as this will only increase the contact of sulfuric acid with the cornea and aggravate the burning sensation.
Once in the mucous membrane of the visual organ, the lacrimator combines with the liquid there and forms sulfuric acid, which acts irritatingly on the eye, causing profuse tearing. The chemical element in the form of sulfur, which is the main culprit in the unpleasant events that occur, is in the amount of several atoms in the amino acids present in onion cells. When cells are destroyed, amino acids begin to actively combine with the enzymes present in the same cells and form this same lacrimator.
What to do if tears flow from the onion
If a person has not taken preventive measures to prevent the ingress of irritating onion substances into the eyes, as discussed below, he should:
- Immediately blot your eyes with a dry and clean cloth or cloth;
- rinse eyes with warm water;
- go out for a quarter of an hour;
- drip eyes with moisturizing drops.
Important! If the fear of burning in the eyes and the outflow of tears from them and the complex preventive measures taken in connection with this exceed the real danger that arises when cutting onions, then you should not fuss. Moral costs can be more dangerous than a short burning sensation in the visual organs.
Methods for slicing onions without tears
In the process of centuries-old use of onions, people have accumulated many tricks. helping to alleviate, or even completely level the effects of irritating substances of the vegetable on the eyes.
Most often used for this:
- A sharp knife that minimizes damage to bulb cells.
- Frequent during cutting of the onion, wetting the blade of the knife with cold water, which, dissolving the lacrimator, reduces its entry into the air.
- Cutting onions under running cold water and in containers with the same water.
- Cutting in a transparent plastic bag.
- Jets of air from the fan, which remove onion substances from the person and prevent them from getting into the eyes.
- Soaking the bulbs and even finding them for a quarter of an hour in the freezer, after which, indeed, nibbles and cuts the organs of vision noticeably less, but at the same time slightly reduces the consumer's condition of the vegetable.
- Steam coming from a nearby teapot or pot that dissolves substances floating in the air, preventing them from reaching the human eye.
- Wetting the cutting board with table vinegar.
In addition to these popular and effective prophylactic agents, one can also name exotic ones in the form of:
- hanging onion peel ears;
- kindling gas comforts and candles;
- singing or whistling lips with melodies while slicing onions;
- chewing gum;
- protruding tongue;
- putting on swimming goggles and even gas masks.
If there are no serious allergic reactions to the onion, short-term burning in the eyes and profuse lacrimation when cutting the bulb, which the vast majority of people have encountered, usually does not cause them big problems. And simple tricks can even reduce them to nothing.
