Hey everyone, I’m hoping someone might recognise what plant could’ve done this. A few days ago I was out walking and brushed past a bush or something leafy that was hanging over a wall. I felt a sting on my face, but thought nothing of it until I got home and noticed this mark had appeared.
It’s been a week now and it’s sore, red, and blistered in dots. The pharmacist told me to take antihistamines which I have been doing. I think it might be a reaction from something like hogweed or fig tree sap, but I’m not sure.
Has anyone had a similar reaction or know which plants can cause this kind of burn? I was in a woodland/overgrown area in South London if that helps narrow it down.
(Photos attached for reference — sorry if they look a bit grim!)
by Street-Tower-4059
10 Comments
Hogweed
I believe contact with hogweed can cause some people’s skin to react to sunlight
If you felt an immediate sting then it’s actually very unlikely to be hogweed (at least as long as you’re not allergic). Hogweed does not produce an immediate reaction. It’s not technically directly harmful. What it does do is make your skin very sensitive to UV light, and produces rashes and blistering if the affected areas are exposed to sunlight for more than a few minutes.
I think your best bet is to go back and look with caution. Certainly nasty you poor thing.
I once had a run-in with agapanthus sap and while it didn’t cause any physical damage it stung really bad and I tried washing it off with soap and spread it all over my body as it is fat-soluble (only realised this later), only started to get better when a friend suggested hand sanitiser a few days later.
My first thought was a sap burn of some kind, I dont think it would be fig unless you got unlucky and it had a wound.
The more I look the more I think something with small hairs likes nettles have.
Can you go back to the area and get an ID?
It might be worth seeing your GP or even A&E, if it gets even worse over the next couple of days.
I’m thinking it may actually be a ‘sting’ from a caterpillar. They can cause rashes and would immediately sting with some varieties. The rash with them develops and can cause blistering. They live in overgrowth too! Just a thought! It looks like the wound has reached its peak and hopefully it will keep getting better from now…
Hard to tell from photos without asking innocent questions like, “Did it itch at stage 1? Have you rubbed or scratched at it?” etc.
From the first 2 photos, it looks a little like a candida type fungal infection, but by photo 4, it looks like stage 3 syphilis. Seek urgent medical examination, and don’t ask for reddit diagnoses.
Can you go back to check if there’s giant hogweed where you walked past? It’s probably best to go check because we’ll just be making guesses on here
Sumac maybe?
talk to your gp not random people on the Internet.