Irritant Contact Dermatitis and Allergic Contact Dermatitis are two different skin conditions.
Irritant CD occurs when you get prickled or scratched by something - let's say, a squash plant's spines - and the scratches get red and itchy and swell up. After a day or so, the swelling goes away and you've got little scratches which heal up as scratches do.
Allergic CD is often associated with poison ivy and other plants of that ilk. Guess what? Cucumber plants can also cause it for some people. Allergic CD is characterized by bumps and welts that itch like the dickens. It lasts for many days, and you're plagued by the constant need to scratch. I didn't realize this when pulling out the dying cucumber vines, and so didn't wash off my arms right away. In fact, not only did it have time to set, but it got on the inside of the sleeves of a jacket I wore later that day, and I suspect perpetuated my itchiness. I've never gotten poison ivy before, so it was quite an eye opener!
Who knew that garden variety vegetable plants could be so noxious!
Cheap trick: to save the costs of calamine lotion and antihistamines, wear gloves and a light-weight long-sleeved shirt while gardening!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Plain old cucumbers can act like poison ivy? Wow. I wonder how many other plans are like this.
ReplyDelete