Miss Puerto Rico, Ingrid Marie Rivera, was on “The Today Show” this morning and spoke with Meredith Vieira about that whole pepper spray incident – the one where Rivera insists her gown, make-up and bathing suit were doused with pepper spray by jealous contestants in an attempt to sabatoge her vie for the crown.

Rivera insists her bumps and red rash were not a nervous reaction, telling Vieira:

“It’s not a nervous reaction. It’s not made up. It’s a beauty pageant, why would I do that to myself?”

On the other hand, NBC’s Kerry Sanders reported from San Juan that investigators are skeptical that pepper spray was involved, but also reported that there was jealousy among some of the contestants because they thought Rivera had an unfair advantage since she had been a judge for the pageant the previous year, while even other contestents wonder why no signs of swelling or redness ever appeared while Rivera was on stage.

Personally, I’ve had experience with both pepper spray and hives, so I know what both are like and they are so entirely different that there’s no way one could be mistaken for the other.  I get hives a lot and although it’s a nervous reaction, hives are usually isolated to a certain area, however scratching can spread them to other areas of the body.  They are small, itchy bumps that are uncomfortable, however they don’t last long and can usually be treated fairly quickly. 

Pepper spray on the other hand is intensely painful and the effects are obvious – the swelling and redness lasts for an extended period of time and it burns when it touches the skin, causing pain and severe redness.  My husband was accidently sprayed when a small canister was on the keychain of a co-worker and while fixing her car, he accidently grabbed the pepper spray on the keychain and got a good squirt.  Even a small amount will cause obvious pain, swelling and redness for quite some time. 

What do you think? Was Miss Puerto Rico pepper sprayed, was it just a bad case of hives, or something else?