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#1
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Ouch! Dangerous weed.
My forearms are covered in horrible red blisters, like lots of burn
wounds, they are a real mess. Three days ago I ran the lawnmower over some weeds / flowers which where poking through a fence onto the edge of the lawn. It only knocked over some of the taller weeds so I pulled them up by hand afterwards wearing leather gloves but bare arms. I thought nothing of this and continued working in the garden for several hours. However by the evening my arms were itching and had red marks. By the following day they were covered in red swollen blisters. Some long blisters too several inches long, all full of fluid. They are still a mess and red and itching three days later. After looking up the symptoms and degree of skin blistering on the web it is possible the weed could have been a giant hogweed but I don't remember mowing one of those down. It is likely that running the mower over the weeds/flowers splattered sap all over them and when I pulling up the flattened stragglers and carried them in my arms to the compost bin I probably got my arms coated in sap. I wish I knew exactly what type of weed did the damage. I know that amongst the weeds there was one of those big plants that look like a thistle but have yellow flowers, there were also lots of forget-me-nots and some morning glory. I'm not aware of any of those having dangerous sap? -- David in Normandy. To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the subject line, or it will be automatically deleted by a filter and not reach my inbox. |
#2
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Ouch! Dangerous weed.
"David in Normandy" wrote in message . fr... My forearms are covered in horrible red blisters, like lots of burn wounds, they are a real mess. Three days ago I ran the lawnmower over some weeds / flowers which where poking through a fence onto the edge of the lawn. It only knocked over some of the taller weeds so I pulled them up by hand afterwards wearing leather gloves but bare arms. I thought nothing of this and continued working in the garden for several hours. However by the evening my arms were itching and had red marks. By the following day they were covered in red swollen blisters. Some long blisters too several inches long, all full of fluid. They are still a mess and red and itching three days later. After looking up the symptoms and degree of skin blistering on the web it is possible the weed could have been a giant hogweed but I don't remember mowing one of those down. It is likely that running the mower over the weeds/flowers splattered sap all over them and when I pulling up the flattened stragglers and carried them in my arms to the compost bin I probably got my arms coated in sap. Sounds like Hogweed to me, not neccesarily the giant sort, just ordinary standard Hogweed, the damaged is made worse if the sap gets on the skin and then is exposed to sunlight, I have the scars on my hands to this day of a dose before I realised how damaging it could be. -- Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella and Lapageria rosea cvs http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk I wish I knew exactly what type of weed did the damage. I know that amongst the weeds there was one of those big plants that look like a thistle but have yellow flowers, there were also lots of forget-me-nots and some morning glory. I'm not aware of any of those having dangerous sap? -- David in Normandy. To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the subject line, or it will be automatically deleted by a filter and not reach my inbox. |
#3
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Ouch! Dangerous weed.
On 09/05/2011 13:50, Charlie Pridham wrote:
"David in Normandy" wrote in message . fr... My forearms are covered in horrible red blisters, like lots of burn wounds, they are a real mess. Three days ago I ran the lawnmower over some weeds / flowers which where poking through a fence onto the edge of the lawn. It only knocked over some of the taller weeds so I pulled them up by hand afterwards wearing leather gloves but bare arms. I thought nothing of this and continued working in the garden for several hours. However by the evening my arms were itching and had red marks. By the following day they were covered in red swollen blisters. Some long blisters too several inches long, all full of fluid. They are still a mess and red and itching three days later. After looking up the symptoms and degree of skin blistering on the web it is possible the weed could have been a giant hogweed but I don't remember mowing one of those down. It is likely that running the mower over the weeds/flowers splattered sap all over them and when I pulling up the flattened stragglers and carried them in my arms to the compost bin I probably got my arms coated in sap. Sounds like Hogweed to me, not neccesarily the giant sort, just ordinary standard Hogweed, the damaged is made worse if the sap gets on the skin and then is exposed to sunlight, I have the scars on my hands to this day of a dose before I realised how damaging it could be. It is possible, and I continued working in the full sun for several more hours. There is certainly lots of the ordinary hogweed growing wild around here. By the look of the burns on my arms I'm likely to be carrying some of the scars for the rest of my life too! In all the years I've been gardening the worst I've ever suffered from plants are mild alergic reactions to runner bean leaves and courgette foliage; the occasional thorn, prickle, nettle sting and slashes from pampas grass. This is more like an industrial accident with acid! I don't think it will warrant a hospital visit, but still quite nasty. -- David in Normandy. To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the subject line, or it will be automatically deleted by a filter and not reach my inbox. |
#4
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Ouch! Dangerous weed.
On May 9, 1:22*pm, David in Normandy
wrote: On 09/05/2011 13:50, Charlie Pridham wrote: "David in Normandy" wrote in message .fr... My forearms are covered in horrible red blisters, like lots of burn wounds, they are a real mess. Three days ago I ran the lawnmower over some weeds / flowers which where poking through a fence onto the edge of the lawn. It only knocked over some of the taller weeds so I pulled them up by hand afterwards wearing leather gloves but bare arms. I thought nothing of this and continued working in the garden for several hours. However by the evening my arms were itching and had red marks. By the following day they were covered in red swollen blisters. Some long blisters too several inches long, all full of fluid. They are still a mess and red and itching three days later. After looking up the symptoms and degree of skin blistering on the web it is possible the weed could have been a giant hogweed but I don't remember mowing one of those down. It is likely that running the mower over the weeds/flowers splattered sap all over them and when I pulling up the flattened stragglers and carried them in my arms to the compost bin I probably got my arms coated in sap. Sounds like Hogweed to me, not neccesarily the giant sort, just ordinary standard Hogweed, the damaged is made worse if the sap gets on the skin and then is exposed to sunlight, I have the scars on my hands to this day of a dose before I realised how damaging it could be. It is possible, and I continued working in the full sun for several more hours. There is certainly lots of the ordinary hogweed growing wild around here. By the look of the burns on my arms I'm likely to be carrying some of the scars for the rest of my life too! In all the years I've been gardening the worst I've ever suffered from plants are mild alergic reactions to runner bean leaves and courgette foliage; the occasional thorn, prickle, nettle sting and slashes from pampas grass. This is more like an industrial accident with acid! I don't think it will warrant a hospital visit, but still quite nasty. -- David in Normandy. * * *To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the * *subject line, or it will be automatically deleted * *by a filter and not reach my inbox.- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - I have had the same sort of thing happen for 3 years on the trot, not as bad as yours but I was getting blistering after contact with something, I put it down to contact with the stems of hops causing a reaction when I got sunlight exposure. The blistering lasted for a few days and left lighter patches on my arms which took a few months to dissapear. I believe that teasel can have the same result. |
#5
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Ouch! Dangerous weed.
On 09/05/2011 14:33, Dave Hill wrote:
On May 9, 1:22 pm, David in wrote: On 09/05/2011 13:50, Charlie Pridham wrote: "David in wrote in message . fr... My forearms are covered in horrible red blisters, like lots of burn wounds, they are a real mess. Three days ago I ran the lawnmower over some weeds / flowers which where poking through a fence onto the edge of the lawn. It only knocked over some of the taller weeds so I pulled them up by hand afterwards wearing leather gloves but bare arms. I thought nothing of this and continued working in the garden for several hours. However by the evening my arms were itching and had red marks. By the following day they were covered in red swollen blisters. Some long blisters too several inches long, all full of fluid. They are still a mess and red and itching three days later. After looking up the symptoms and degree of skin blistering on the web it is possible the weed could have been a giant hogweed but I don't remember mowing one of those down. It is likely that running the mower over the weeds/flowers splattered sap all over them and when I pulling up the flattened stragglers and carried them in my arms to the compost bin I probably got my arms coated in sap. Sounds like Hogweed to me, not neccesarily the giant sort, just ordinary standard Hogweed, the damaged is made worse if the sap gets on the skin and then is exposed to sunlight, I have the scars on my hands to this day of a dose before I realised how damaging it could be. It is possible, and I continued working in the full sun for several more hours. There is certainly lots of the ordinary hogweed growing wild around here. By the look of the burns on my arms I'm likely to be carrying some of the scars for the rest of my life too! In all the years I've been gardening the worst I've ever suffered from plants are mild alergic reactions to runner bean leaves and courgette foliage; the occasional thorn, prickle, nettle sting and slashes from pampas grass. This is more like an industrial accident with acid! I don't think it will warrant a hospital visit, but still quite nasty. They might have something better than over the counter treatments to help minimise inflammation and scarring and avoid secondary infections. Photosensitising by (giant) hogweed seems the most likely explanation. It can be pretty nasty. And also once sensitised I think you are always in for a rough ride with it in future. I have had the same sort of thing happen for 3 years on the trot, not as bad as yours but I was getting blistering after contact with something, I put it down to contact with the stems of hops causing a reaction when I got sunlight exposure. I think hops will do it to. ISTR More like bad nettle rash than a strict allergy. The blistering lasted for a few days and left lighter patches on my arms which took a few months to dissapear. I believe that teasel can have the same result. Never had any bother with teasel apart from mechanical thorn based injuries from it and brambles. I managed to accidentally get sensitised to sedum spectabile sap by careless handling and strong sunlight. Regards, Martin Brown |
#6
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Ouch! Dangerous weed.
In article ,
Martin Brown wrote: Photosensitising by (giant) hogweed seems the most likely explanation. It can be pretty nasty. And also once sensitised I think you are always in for a rough ride with it in future. No, No, NO!!! That's all true, but it's NOT particularly likely to be giant hogweed, or even ordinary hogweed. LOTS of plants will do it to the same extent, and not everybody reacts to giant hogweed, anyway. Common periwinkle and most spurge sap will both do it, for a start. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#7
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Ouch! Dangerous weed.
On 05/09/2011 02:22 PM, David in Normandy wrote:
On 09/05/2011 13:50, Charlie Pridham wrote: [] Sounds like Hogweed to me, not neccesarily the giant sort, just ordinary standard Hogweed, the damaged is made worse if the sap gets on the skin and then is exposed to sunlight, I have the scars on my hands to this day of a dose before I realised how damaging it could be. It is possible, and I continued working in the full sun for several more hours. There is certainly lots of the ordinary hogweed growing wild around here. By the look of the burns on my arms I'm likely to be carrying some of the scars for the rest of my life too! In all the years I've been gardening the worst I've ever suffered from plants are mild alergic reactions to runner bean leaves and courgette foliage; the occasional thorn, prickle, nettle sting and slashes from pampas grass. This is more like an industrial accident with acid! I don't think it will warrant a hospital visit, but still quite nasty. Wow, that's terrible. What did your GP say, any treatment? There are tonnes of hogweed growing around, over the last 20 years there has been a huge invasion of the stuff. Roadsides, fields. French call it La Berce, (giant hogweed is Berce de Caucause). Really very hard to kill, I've found. -E |
#8
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Ouch! Dangerous weed.
In article ,
David in Normandy wrote: My forearms are covered in horrible red blisters, like lots of burn wounds, they are a real mess. ... Nasty. You'll recover, but it will take a while. I wish I knew exactly what type of weed did the damage. I know that amongst the weeds there was one of those big plants that look like a thistle but have yellow flowers, there were also lots of forget-me-nots and some morning glory. I'm not aware of any of those having dangerous sap? Don't be confused by the crap the gutter press puts out. There are thousands of common plants that can cause that, and people vary immensely in their responses. Things are nowhere near as simple as poisonous/non-poisonous. All that you can tell is that you are allergic to one of those plants, and it was probably a photosensitivity, so wouldn't have happened on a really gloomy day. It can be caused by grass, and then is associated with hay fever, for example. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#9
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Ouch! Dangerous weed.
On 09/05/2011 12:47, David in Normandy wrote:
My forearms are covered in horrible red blisters, like lots of burn wounds, they are a real mess. Three days ago I ran the lawnmower over some weeds / flowers which where poking through a fence onto the edge of the lawn. It only knocked over some of the taller weeds so I pulled them up by hand afterwards wearing leather gloves but bare arms. I thought nothing of this and continued working in the garden for several hours. However by the evening my arms were itching and had red marks. By the following day they were covered in red swollen blisters. Some long blisters too several inches long, all full of fluid. They are still a mess and red and itching three days later. After looking up the symptoms and degree of skin blistering on the web it is possible the weed could have been a giant hogweed but I don't remember mowing one of those down. It is likely that running the mower over the weeds/flowers splattered sap all over them and when I pulling up the flattened stragglers and carried them in my arms to the compost bin I probably got my arms coated in sap. I wish I knew exactly what type of weed did the damage. I know that amongst the weeds there was one of those big plants that look like a thistle but have yellow flowers, there were also lots of forget-me-nots and some morning glory. I'm not aware of any of those having dangerous sap? Try http://www.dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/plants/hogweed.html Worth treating most of the hogweed family with respect. Strimming it in strong sunshine is asking for trouble. Just be glad we don't have anything in the league of urushiol containing poison ivy/oak. Regards, Martin Brown |
#10
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Ouch! Dangerous weed.
On 09/05/2011 15:52, Martin Brown wrote:
Try http://www.dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/plants/hogweed.html Worth treating most of the hogweed family with respect. Strimming it in strong sunshine is asking for trouble. Just be glad we don't have anything in the league of urushiol containing poison ivy/oak. The middle photo is how my arms look, except I've also got some additional blisters several inches long, presumably due to picking the sap covered stuff up in my arms to carry to the compost bin rather than simply strimming it. I'll certainly take more care in future not to get any type of plant sap on my skin. I'll also give hogweed a lot more respect too! It's dangerous in gardens! LOL -- David in Normandy. To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the subject line, or it will be automatically deleted by a filter and not reach my inbox. |
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