I recently had a bad experience with an irritating plant. I had a rash and blisters form on my legs after spending the day pulling weeds. I didn't notice what plant caused the rash but the symptoms seems to match wild parsnip exposure. When the sap of wild parsnip gets on skin it doesn't cause an immediate reaction until the skin is exposed to sunlight. The plant sap and the sunlight combined causes burns on the skin that will blister. The reaction is called phytophotodermatitis. My experience was an unpleasant one and I will be more careful to wear long pants and wash any exposed skin immediately in the future.
I often have many small irritations on my skin from the plants I come into contact with. Poison ivy has given me many rashes in my life and I'm very careful around it. When I find poison ivy in my garden I pull it out using a bag over my hand in the same method used to pick up dog poop. I bag it up and throw it away. Another plant that I get a rash from is Japanese Hops. It is an annual vine with many spines. The spiny vines grab at my skin and leave me with tinny itching bumps for a few days. Last week I was cutting back iron weed and ended up with a rash on my arms from the fuzz of the stems as I hauled them off to the compost pile. Many plants have spines or irritating fuzz to protect themselves from being eaten. It also deters the gardener from pulling them if they cause a rash. My advice is learn which plants irritate you and how to recognize them at a young age so they don't get a foothold in the garden.
Most skin irritations go away after I wash or are gone the next day. If I have a lasting rash I like to use creams that numb the skin, aloe, or an anti itch cream. With this latest rash I had from the wild parsnip I found it difficult to find information about the rash and how to treat it. There are a million different opinions about how to treat poison ivy but very few sources about wild parsnip. I even went to my doctor and she had never heard of wild parsnip. My recommendation for dealing with a wild parsnip rash is to use lots of aloe and ice packs for relief. Keep skin cool and not exposed to sunlight. I received steroids from my doctor which helped to give me relief from the allergic reaction right away. It took about two weeks for the rash to run it's course but I hear that it can return after being exposed. I will have to remember to wear long pants for the rest of the year.
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