Whenever I chop peppers for a meal, particularly spicy peppers, I make an effort to avoid touching my eyes. This avoidance stems from two occasions when I wasn’t as careful — and you can imagine the end result.

For a while I wore food-safe gloves, but then I ran out, and well, I haven’t gotten around to picking up another box. I’ve also utilized the plastic bag method, which effectively keeps the capsaicin off my skin but makes the food prep a bit more difficult.

So I’m back to bare-handing it, only now I’m much more cautious about what I touch afterwards, at least until I’ve had the opportunity to properly wash my hands. And yet, whenever the chopping is underway, my left eye starts to behave irrationally. It is always in that moment, during the dismemberment of the jalapeño for a chili or soup that my eye starts to itch, as if begging to be rubbed.

The reason for this itch eludes me, but I’m beginning to think my left eye is masochistic.