In Hong Kong, I was served a spicy shrimp dish that was so hot it numbed my unconditioned taste buds for three days and brought my gastronomic tour of that city to an abrupt halt. But people who eat hot foods all the time apparently become conditioned to their oral effects and do not find them painful. In fact, foods traditionally eaten hot are regarded as bland without the proper dose of pepper, much as a person used to a lot of salt would find salt-free foods tasteless.
For non-oral tissues, however, the burning produced by capsaicin, the irritating chemical in chili peppers, can be very painful. When preparing peppers it is wise to wear rubber gloves or hold the pep pers in a paper towel or plastic wrap. Fingers that have handled hot peppers should be washed thoroughly and kept out of the eyes and other sensitive tissues, including those of the pelvic region. If you should get capsaicin on sensitive tissues, flush quickly with lots of water to reduce the irritation.
If you burn your mouth with an overdose of hot pepper, Howard Hillman, author of ''The Cook's Book'' (Avon, $8.95), recommends eating an absorbent food like bread or rice rather than drinking liquids, which will spread capsaicin to other parts of your mouth.