If you look at the title of this article you will see that I entitled it, self defense sprays and not pepper spray. There is a good reason for this as pepper spray is only one type of self defense spray out there on the market today.
Pepper spray, as it has been dubbed refers to the type of self defense sprays that are made from various incredibly hot peppers, hence the name. There is also personal tear gas sprays that contain CS gas. Mace makes a combo spray which has OC, CN and UV dye.
The OC, CN and CS breakdown:
Ok OC is short for Oleoresin Capsicum and is derived from peppers; it is very eco friendly and all natural. This is what pepper spray contains and is where the name pepper spray came from, the fact it is made from peppers.
CS is short for Orthochlorobenzalmalonitrile, quite a mouthful isn’t it? Ok this is what the first defense sprays contained and is still used in the tear gas models as well as some of the combo sprays. Generally CS has proven to be less effective than OC. It is man made and not eco friendly whatsoever, it is also suspected of containing carcinogens.
CN is short for alphachloroacetaphenone, another mouthful. This is also an older type of defensive spray and has proven, like CS, to be less effective than OC. Like CS, CN is man made and not eco friendly whatsoever, it is also suspected of containing carcinogens.
The combo sprays are said to have benefits but I have not tested this yet. In case you didn’t get the hint it is best to use self defense sprays that contain mostly or only, OC and they will be called Pepper Sprays.
Why is OC better than CS and CN?
Ok CN and CS are designed to be irritants to membrane tissues. In normal person speak that means it causes pain and tearing from the eyes. Now being an irritant one could build up an immunity to the spray. Many military organizations actually make their soldiers repeatedly expose themselves to tear gas to build up their tolerance in the case it is used by an enemy.
Now OC is a whole different animal, it isn’t an irritant like CN or CS, it is in fact an inflammatory causing agent. In normal speak, it most likely will force them to shut their eyes instantly and it causes the eye capillaries to dilate causing temporary “blindness".
If that wasn’t enough it also inflames the respiratory system causing extreme pain which most likely will double over the attacker and he will have trouble breathing, not enough to die but it will severely limit his ability and desire to keep attacking. You can see the benefit.
Now there are more reasons OC or pepper spray is your best choice. There are no lasting effects whatsoever. It wears off in roughly 20-30 minutes. It works well on animals but one of the animal designed pepper sprays would be better. It is completely non toxic and all natural which is good for you and the environment.
The other major benefit is effectiveness. Many law enforcement personnel have reported complete failure of their CN or CS based spray with some mentally disturbed or drugged up individuals. Not the case with pepper sprays.
Most of all, the most important benefit is speed. CN and CS take on average from 5-30 seconds to work on the person, OC on the other hand takes immediate effect, 1 second or less. 5 - 30 seconds would be like a lifetime if you were being attacked at the time with some type of weapon.
Now as I have mentioned, there is also a combo spray which is touted by manufacturers as having all the benefits of CN and OC. I have never tested these sprays but my research seems to show that the key is just having OC. So a combo spray might not be any more effective than just an OC (pepper) spray but I cannot say for sure.
Now I hope this clears things up, OC or pepper spray is the best type of defensive spray on the market. You only real decisions now are which strength or type of pepper spray should you get.
The next article in this series will cover all of the different strengths of pepper spray and what it really means. We will also cover the different types: stream, foggers, gel and foam and tell you the pros and cons of each type.
We will get you through the confusion I promise. In the meantime stay safe!
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