Been there, done that! I was chopping up a dried pepper (don't remember specifically which one) and got my hand close to my eye. Anyway, it started burning and because I was wearing contacts, I couldn't get the burning to stop even by rensing the contact. I had to throw that one away and get another one.
We use those plastic "gloves" for most food handling. They are the disposable ones you can buy in a thousand at Sams real cheap. Great for handling meat too.
Here's a hint for handling those dripping meat packages at the grocery store. Take one of those plastic produce or meat bags and use it as a glove before you pick up and bag your meat or poultry.