Kitchen Garden Forum

Yesterday while I was pulling some euphorbia weeds out I felt a sharp sting in my eye which I assume was a tiny splash of sap as the stem broke. It turned to a burning pain which got worse and my eye was streaming. I splashed cold water into it for quite a few minutes and kept repeating it every few minutes as the first aid suggests. I knew the sap could cause skin problems so am careful not to rub my eyes when I've been handling it and have never had a skin reaction while weeding in the past. In future I will treat it with much more caution.

It was terribly painful for several hours but gradually eased off and apart from being a bit red and sticky it is alright this morning.

I had great difficulty looking up the first aid so thought I would post this as a reminder and hope it helps raise awareness of the dangers and how to treat it if it happens to you.

EUPHORBIA SAP IN EYE: WASH OUT FOR 10 -15 MINUTES IN COLD WATER AND REPEAT FREQUENTLY
the pain can last for up to 12 hours.

And obviously get medical help if it doesn't improve.

A timely warning Thank you. I had no idea about this one although I don't have any in the garden.
Perhaps we could use this as a reminder of other plants which can cause rashes, irritation etc. i believe parsnip leaves are capable of causing skin irritation.

And lilies are poisonous to dogs. (And if you allow the pollen from them to accidentally fall on carpets or tablecloths, the yellow stain is incredibly difficult to remove. Try and pick up with sellotape, and if that fails, a little Vanish, mixed to a paste and rubbed it will often do the trick)

Thanks plum pudding. Really useful, although I have to admit my weed/ flower knowledge is rubbish so I had to google, and recognised the bright green type which I definitely (think) I have at the allotment, so I'll take care.

If you have a photo so I check I've got it correct, that would be great.

Thanks

Pawty

There are a lot of photos of it on line, but I dont know how to attach one sorry. They have self seeded all over the place this year because I let the garden get out of hand last year waiting for my cataract operations. They also carry rust so are a nasty nuisance.

I'm making sure I've got my glasses on to protect my eyes from further splashes now and am wearing gloves when weeding. I had thought about using the flame gun on them but I usually set fire to something else and they're a bit close to other plants.