Kitchen Garden Forum

Can anyone help please?

I was weeding an untended corner on the lottie yesterday, pulling the stuff up by hand and I have got the most horrible, painful red rash right up my arm. It's stinging like anything and coming up in small blisters now.

The main weed I was pulling was about 4ft tall, very shallow rooted with small clusters of yellow flowers on it. Can't give a photo has don't have digital camera. Any ideas on what it is. I've looked in my books but can't find a reference for it.

Thanks

Dear Lizzie, sorry to hear of your predicament.
Two plants spring to mind one is Ragwort, these have quite a cut type leaf. And the other i just can't remember it's name, but this has broarder leaves and likes to seed itself about very easily.
I hope someone else will know.

And i also hope you are feeling a whole lot better soon, have you got any Piriton.

If you've got a wild flower book it will almost certainly be in there. I had a look in mine, but none of them mentioned unpleasant side-effects, and I checked for giant hogweed which I know causes blisters. However, once you identified it you could look it up on the web. You've probably done this, though!
---------------
Granny

Hope the arm's better. The effects make me sure it is rue (ruta graveolens).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rue

Alan

Hi Lizzie,
I suspect that you may well be allergic to the plants from the Spurge Family. (The Euphorbia's)
The sap of these plants is well known to affect some people but not all, causing red wheals, soreness and blisters
My wife is allergic but I am happy to say that I am not.
In the Mitchel Beasley book of Wild Flowers, that you have, you should easily identify the culprit.
JB.

Sounds like common ragwort to me, it always causes my arms to blister. Lanacane cream immediately relieves the itching and rash. Hope it gets better soon!

Lets hope Lizzie hasn't swollen up all over we haven't heard from her yet.

BOO

Here I am. Had another look in the excellent book that the wonderful John Boy bought for me (which is well dogeared now after all the use it has had)I couldn't see properly at 4.15 this morning

It appears to be either Broadleafed Ragwort or Cypress Spurge. Will identify it properly when I get back to the lottie on Friday.

The arm has gone down now, just left with some small blisters and red wheals. Covered in camomile cream and easing off now. I'm allergic to nettles too but react differently with those.

Oh well, that'll teach me. Now I have to find gloves which are extra small (a childs gloves fit me perfectly) and up to the job.

Thanks for the help everyone.

Dear Lizzie, so glad it didn't spread.

Little hands, i must make a note of that.

hi Lizzie, It could be photodermatis caused by a reaction to chemicals in most plants in the umbillifercie group that react to sunlight, wild parsnip, giant hogweed etc but also from garden parsnips and celary. I think it has cropped up on the forum many moons ago but i cant find it in the search. s.tart.
p.s. Alan could have it with common rue.

If it is ragwort, is this a notifiable weed? Gone to seed parsnips cause nasty rashes and burns.

I hope your maulers are much improved Lizzie.

were you weeding in the nude again
good job its only your arm!
hope its calmer soon

If you want x-small gloves try these showa ones, (link provided by chantal last year!), I have had 3 pairs they are still going strong although the right hand fingers wear out more quickly than the left (i wish i could buy extra right hands)http://www.harrodhorticultural.com/HarrodSite/category/Footwear%20and%20Clothing_Showa%20Gloves/

I used to take a 5 in surgical gloves, but the 7 in showa is fine on me, all other ladies gloves are completely enormous, but childrens ones are never robust enough.

I've found a much cheaper supplier of Showa gloves

http://www.centresalesgloves.co.uk/

Thanks very much for that link - I ordered two pairs at once! Somebody gave me a pair earlier this year and I've loved them, nice to know where I can get more. They're much tougher than they look and are really tactile - the only glove that's really any good for thinning seedlings in a row. Brill.