A TEEN was left with a blister as big as an orange and couldn’t even dress himself after he touched “the UK’s most dangerous plant”.
Ross McPherson, 16, said he brushed past the giant hogweed while cycling near his home in Dunbar, East Lothian.
The ‘orange-sized’ blister on Ross’s handCredit: Ross McPherson via Pen News
Credit: Ross McPherson via Pen NewsThe teen fainted when the blister was drained without anaesthetic[/caption]
A few hours later, he noticed his hand turning red – and soon after it erupted in painful blisters that needed hospital treatment.
The blisters had to be removed without anaesthesia, causing the teen so much pain that he fainted.
He said: “I was riding my bike and I must’ve just brushed past it. When I first noticed it, my hand was just red and slightly painful.
“I didn’t know what it was. It felt warm.
“It impacted daily life quite a lot. I couldn’t put clothes over it and because it was over my joints, I couldn’t really use my left hand.
“It felt like having a giant balloon on my hand that was susceptible to pain at any point in the day.”
Ross added: “I could barely get my coat off, I could barely put jumpers or t-shirts on.
“It was unusable basically – I couldn’t do anything with it.
“I had smaller blisters over the knuckles, so moving my fingers was also excruciating.”
Ross said his hand was initially assessed by his GP, who diagnosed contact dermatitis.
But he would ultimately be treated at Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary after visiting its A&E department.
The teenager had a mixture of second and third-degree burns.
He said: “The person we saw thought originally that we would have to go to the burns unit in Livingston to get it done.
“But they told her just to do it in the Royal Infirmary, so she cut a line in it and drained the fluid.
“Some of it was jelly so she opened it up and pulled the jelly out, and she cut around all the dead and blistered skin, and pulled it off – there was quite a lot of it.
“You’re not on anaesthetic because they need to make sure the nerves aren’t damaged and that you’re feeling it – because in the more serious cases that can happen.
“It was absolute hell. It hurt so much. I fainted during it, it was that bad.”
When it was burst, the biggest blister was the size of an orange.
Ross said: “The largest one was seven centimetres by eight centimetres. It was like an orange.
“It was heavy. I could feel the weight of it on my hand continuously.”
The giant hogweed’s sap stops the skin protecting itself against the sun’s rays, leading to gruesome burns when exposed to natural light.
Part of what makes it so dangerous is that it usually causes no immediate pain – so its victims continue to burn in the sunshine unaware of any problem.
Ross said: “It’ll remain sensitive for years and years, but they can’t give an exact number.
“They said put factor 50 sunscreen on it for the next couple of years, or a glove in the winter if possible.”
URGENT WARNING
The giant hogweed is native to the Caucasus, but was introduced to Britain as an ornamental plant in 1817, and its spread has now got out of control.
Mike Duddy, of the Mersey Basin Rivers Trust, said in 2015 that the giant hogweed was “without a shadow of a doubt, the most dangerous plant in Britain”.
If exposed to the plant, the Woodland Trust says you should thoroughly wash the area that made contact and keep it out of sunlight for a few days.
East Lothian Council said: “Suspected giant hogweed was reported to us in Dunbar and on investigation of the location provided it was concluded it was in fact common hogweed.
“Every report of giant hogweed is fully investigated and actioned if it is on council land.
“Members of the public are requested and encouraged to report giant hogweed to us via the website or calling the council contact centre so that these plants can be dealt with as they appear.”
Giant hogweed: know the danger
Giant hogweed can cause blistering, burns and long-lasting scars
The plant can reach a height of 12ft, with thick bristly stems with purple blotches and clustered flowers.
It is a criminal offence to cause giant hogweed to grow in the wild.
You could be slapped with an anti-social behaviour order if you let hogweed infest your garden – so ask your council to remove it immediately.
When getting rid of giant hogweed, cover you arms and legs and wear a face mask.
Any clothing and tools which come into contact with the plant will be dangerous too.
Immediately wash any skin which comes into contact with them in cold water.
The best weedkillers for the job are glyphosate and triclopyr, but you must not spray near waterways or ponds.
You should only dispose of giant hogweed in a licenced landfill site.
Credit: Scottish Invasive Species Initiative via Pen NewsKeep an eye out for giant hogweed[/caption] Read More