Onions: They hurt almost everyone's eyes, but...

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I think onions hurt my eyes more than most people, enough that I'm constantly crying non-stop whever I'm cutting them. Someone suggested to me that I might try wearing swimming goggles when cutting them, which is a really good idea!

There's probably people who have it worse than me, but it does make me wonder whether maybe it might be partly sensory related? Obviously, cutting onions isn't pleasant for anyone (or very few people anyway), but I'm curious to know whether people on the spectrum tend to find it worse than neurotypicals.

Not sure what to select.
Onions bothered me more when I was younger.
Now I have no problem.
Maybe it's the type of onions I buy ... I look for the sweetest varieties.

I actually love onions and they don't bother me.

I can't really make a selection.
Sometimes they hurt my eyes, most times they don't. I think it depends on the type, quantity, type of cut.
My worst experience was cutting red onions with a meat slicer by the bucket full at a restaurant in Colorado.

I think I'm more sensitive to it than the average person, or at least more sensitive to the pain from it - I seem to be hypersensitive to pain of any kind.

Goggles are good, but first, check that your knife is razor-sharp, and leave the root area to last. The mechanism is a fine, acidic spray released by onion cells as they are crushed while still under osmotic pressure.

Sweet onions, Vidalia onions, white, or yellow onions. All quite manageable. Make you cry if you dice up two or three whole onions for your meat balls.

But just ONE of those red onions....MURDER on the eyes.

The type of onion definitely makes a difference.

I used to wear contact lenses and if I chopped up onions, they didn't affect me at all. I think this was because the contacts covered up the nerve endings on the coloured part of my eyes.

Now I just wear glasses and cry with the best of them.

I LOVE the Rowlf video!! Thank you.

I had to laugh out loud on this one because it's so true for me. It got to the point where my eyes felt like they had swollen shut and my entire face was completely wet after cutting onions. And I've known my sister and brother would have no problem doing this whatsoever. Cutting onions is an excruciating experience for me and NTs don't seem to have a problem with this at all. How weird is that? Yet another Autistic sensory issue I suppose.

Although I came across an interesting life hack regarding cutting onions and it said that if you chew gum while cutting onions then it will reduce the negative effects. Can anyone confirm this?

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*** High Functioning Autism - Asperger's Syndrome ***

ADHD, OCD, and PTSD.

Keep calm and stim away.

When I cut onions my eyes do burn and makes it pretty impossible to keep them open, so perhaps worse than average but as far as I’m aware it’s not totally unusual either.

I usually don't have any problems cutting onions. Rarely they may cause me moist eyes, but for the most part I get no reaction. I'm the designated onion cutter in my family!

I'm neurotypical but I have hell chopping onions. It does vary, but I usually end up having to leave the room a couple of times in order to dry my eyes. Sometimes I stand there trying to chop it at arms length while trying to see through the tears and occasionally looking away, hoping to chop it all in one go. I rarely manage it. Can't see a thing. Wash hands...leave room....wipe face.

Shame. I like onions.

I'm NT, and I have to say that almost all the NTs I know have a hard time chopping onions, too.

I put my cutting board on the stove and turn on the fan, and take breaks to wipe my eyes and blow my nose. I've heard about using swimming goggles, but I haven't tried it yet....how foolish is that?!

Great muppet video.

Onions put out a particular chemical that burns your eyes when you slice them up. Don't see how the neurology of the chef would make any difference to how much your eyes burn.

Like I said above those red onions are far more irritating than other onions ive gotten from Giant. The variable is the breed of the onion, not the breed of the person slicing the onion that makes the difference.

I would bet that swimming goggles would prevent it because that would wall off the air molecule put out by the wounded onions. But I don't see the theory behind chewing gum helping it.