Can You Go Blind from Being Maced?

How Dangerous is Pepper Spray? In most cases, the immediate effects of being sprayed in the face with pepper spray include a burning sensation in the eyes, nose, mouth, and throat but can also cause difficulty breathing and temporary blindness when the eyes swell shut.

Can Mace make you go blind?

Physical effects

When pepper spray comes into contact with a person's eyes, it causes immediate eye closure, acute eye pain, and temporary blindness. Some people describe a bubbling or boiling sensation and severe discomfort.

Does Mace cause permanent damage?

In general, these are short term effects. Pepper spray, for instance, induces a burning sensation in the eyes in part by damaging cells in the outer layer of the cornea. Usually, the body repairs this kind of injury fairly neatly. But with repeated exposures, studies find, there can be permanent damage to the cornea.