---
title: "This is how you develop a tolerance to tear gas"
description: "Oddly enough, the chamber operator or drill sergeant will breathe in tear gas like it's nothing because they can handle it. But how?"
date: "2021-02-19"
modified: "2021-02-19"
authors:
  - name: "Eric Milzarski"
    link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/eric/"
url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/develop-a-tolerance-to-tear-gas/"
categories:
  - "Basic Training"
  - "Join the Military"
---

# This is how you develop a tolerance to tear gas

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17493297/origin.jpg>)

Corson-Stoughton Gas, commonly known as [CS gas](<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5096012/>) or tear gas, is a non-lethal irritant that's often deployed in bouts of civil unrest to disperse riots. The gas "burns" the nose, mouth, and other mucous membranes, causing extreme coughing, partial incapacitation, and a fair share of agony.

---

Troops typically have to endure a visit to the CS chamber twice throughout their career — first during initial training and once again sometime later. Much [like sand](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tLf1JO5bvE>), it's coarse, it's rough, it's irritating, and it gets everywhere. Unlike sand, however, *it hurts like a motherf\*cker.*

Oddly enough, the chamber operator or drill sergeant will breathe in the gas like it's nothing because they can handle it. How?

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17493298/origin.jpg>)
*They're laughing and taking in more of the gas while you're drooling out every bit of mucus from your body. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Brooke Deiters)*

There are some people who are naturally tolerant of CS gas (a suggested 2-5% of the world's population is resistant, with a large percentage of those being of East Asian descent). A mix of both genetics and exposure to an active ingredient in the gas help build a tolerance.

Drill sergeants and CS chamber operators get exposed to the gas on a constant basis over a long period of time. Sure, the first time hurts. The second time, it hurts a little less — and the third time a bit less than that. It's as simple as embracing the suck for long enough.

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17493299/origin.jpg>)

Even if you're not a drill sergeant with East Asian ancestry, you can still grow a tolerance while at home. The chemical that causes the "burn" is capsaicin. It's the exact same chemical found in chili peppers. This is where the name "[pepper spray](<https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2123766>)" comes from.

Now, we're not suggesting that you go home and squirt Sriracha into your face. While there's no official study to back it up, people have claimed that eating a diet full of spicy foods has made their exposures to CS gas and pepper spray milder when compared to the spice-averse.

![Sriracha, which can help you get used to tear gas](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17493300/origin.jpg>)
*All it takes is a bit of Sriracha sauce a day can prevent you from crying like a baby in the CS chamber. (Photo by Steven Depolo)*

## Author
Eric is a U.S. Army veteran and was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division where he served as a radio operator. After being honorably discharged, he then pursued a career in the film and television world.He is now the resident "nerd" at We Are The Mighty. To follow Eric on social media: please check out the links below. [Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/EricMilzarski/>)