Now how on earth was I supposed to know that I should never ever ever grab and yank on the fleshy stem supporting a lovely cluster of just beginning to ripen cluster of berries? I've yanked and pulled at various times over the years a leaf here and there and never even as much as suffered a bump let alone a flaming burning blistering rash!
My poor hand looks like I have bathed it in poison ivy with dime sized burning and itching blisters. And even the blisters have blisters!!! Good Lord! And LORD is exactly what I had in my hand that I snapped off the plant. The Lord half of Arum Italicum, otherwise called around here Lords & Ladies. I'd have taken a picture, but I have run down the batteries in my camera and getting to the store hasn't been high oh my list of priorities. I really should pay attention to Mother Nature's warning system, as it really is pretty good to be aware of , if it is RED, leave it alone. Or yellow. Or sometimes, blue or pink, or white----notice the descending order of ouch factor. The only warning rhyme I've got down pat, is the "Leaves of three- let it be" and I know to stay away from the datura's, and the donna's and rhubarb leaves and a whole host of other plants to be wary of when working around, but it never occurred to me to check on the Lord's and Ladies.
A trip to urgent care on Sunday afternoon and a 12 day prednisone course with generous amounts of steroid cream slathered onto my hand and the indignity of it all, as I have to wear a sock over my hand (because I have no clue as to where a pair of gloves might be hiding) to keep from leaving greasy prints where they don't belong. I hate taking prednisone. Gives me technicolor weird dreams.
I probably would not have had such a bad reaction, if I had gone in indoors and thoroughly washed my hands, or worn gloves, but I didn't. The sap is very much like breaking off a bit of aloe and squeezing the gel onto your hand - gooey. I continued gathering bits and pieces of pretty things to take to my watercolor group and wanted the interesting "stuff"; so I grabbed at the last minute as I was going to my car, stuffing things into a container to hold everything. I did run back into the house and did a quick rinse, but that was it.
Next day I felt like I had put my hand in a pile of fiberglass insulation. Annoying prickles of itching which evolved into a fine itchy rash which by Saturday had burning areas of blisters beginning to form and I was going "uh oh" to myself, but I'm a tough old bird, until on Sunday morning those were some ugly things living on my fingers and the palm of my hand. I had also by that time gotten on the internet and had done some research and realized I had to get this treated, so I printed out information on Arum Italicum and had that ready for the doc. Diagnisis: Contant Dermatitis
Two days of prednisone and I'm feeling much better. Still got some ugly blistered areas, but the itching is almost nonexistent, plus I got out of cooking for two days! There is always an upside! Maybe not so good as I love to cook! We'll just call it a mini-vacation!
So, a word of caution when gathering pretties to add to an arrangement. Make sure you know your plant. If you are going to be gathering stems and such, be aware of sap allergies or irritants. Lords and Ladies have Oxalic Acid in the sap, rhubarb carries it in its leaves, taro (elephant ears) can be used to make poi but the bulb itself is toxic because of oxalic acid without proper preparation. WASH your hands and other exposed areas thoroughly! Don't touch your face or eyes with unwashed hands!
Oh and wear gloves. It will save you from an afternoon of sitting in a waiting room kicking your heels looking and all the other folks sitting there while realizing you are at the end of the line and there are a dozen people in front of you. Yep, it was a long day.
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