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| Yes, the skin was peeling off. It got worse too. |
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| Her blisters remained intact. |
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| The culprit: Myrtle Spurge. |
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| Isolating the rash. Benedryl made one tired little. So tired she took a rare nap. Thursday afternoon the kids and I went for a walk. We have frequently admired a unique looking plant, Myrtle Spurge. This walk Lucas plucked a couple of plants, stuffing them in the handle of the stroller, taking them home. Oh, the weather was too nice to go into the house. So we walked into the backyard, Lucas carrying his prize plants with him. A few minutes later, he happily told me that he was smearing the plants on his sisters face. Was it make up? Paint? Whatever the idea was I asked him to stop. We played a couple of rounds of croquet, then went into the make and eat supper. Fast forward to the next morning. Abigayle wiggled around in the bed next to me. I glanced at her face, why was it her face was dirty? How did that happen? I was sure it was clean when I put her to bed last night. I flipped on my light for a better look. What I saw startled me. Her face was a blistered oozing mess. I turned her head to see the other cheek. Not only was it worse it was swollen. About that time Lucas climbed up on my bed., vertical red streaks decorating his face. What in the world??? The pieces fell together in my mind as I saw the plant sap episode. I struggled out of bed to my kids room to look at my still sleeping Abrianna. Yep, she had blisters on her face too. Not really sure what to do about it, I called my mom who suggested baking soda paste. Next I tried aloe vera next. But oddly these rashes were looking worse after treatment instead of better. I posted some photos of the offending plant on fb. I also started to research. University of WA had a neat sight that helped me match the plants characteristics. Low and behold it was second on the list. Very poisonous, Myrtle Spurge, can cause these awful reactions. The only treatment being cortizone cream and benedryl. Then cover the area. Each blister that popped spread the rash worse. I covered them in big gauze bandages. Today they are much improved. Maybe I can take the bandaids off tomorrow. Guess we'll wait and see. Would be nice if the Easter pictures were "normal." |
2 comments:
I have a rash from Myrtle Spurge and my home remedy has been to put 3 drops of DoTerra’s Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade Melaleuca (Tea Tree) essential oil diluted in a Tablespoon and a half of fractionated coconut oil or lotion and rubbing it on my blisters. It relieves the itch and I have had to apply it a few times when the itch comes back. Also I read once that super hot water as hot as you can stand it on the skin seems to help with the swelling worked on poison ivy when I lived in Texas. It seemed to work for Myrtle Spurge as well. Now I live in Utah and I have a bachelors degree in Landscape Architecture from Utah State. I never learned about how toxic Myrtle Spurge is until I had been infected with it when I was out gardening in my new rental cottage in the Memory Grove neighborhood of Salt Lake City. It’s just not common knowledge. It needs to be something that is taught in boy scouts etc. when you’re a kid to stay away from. We all know "Leaves of three let them be" how come we don't know anything about Myrtle Spurge?!
Hi There,
I was sent your link from my sister. I, too, had a reaction from Myrtle Spurge. I broke off a piece of the plant, thinking that I'd try to transplant it like seedum. During this process, a wee bit of sap got on my hand. I rubbed it off, but it was still sticky. I spit on my hand to try to get it off, but my tongue touched my hand. Immediately my tongue, lips, and throat started to burn and swell. I did not start swelling (never did), but by the next morning, I had a rash along my jawline and two big purple welts on my cheek. My tongue was still numb (1/2 of my tongue front to back) the next day, however throat and lips were better. This plant looks nice, but I will never touch it again! Apparently it is also poisonous to animals.
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