I'M ALIVE!

There's been a crisis, but it's over. 

I was doing some garden work taming the Pencil Plants that grow out of control along a pathway. When you cut it you have to make sure the pile of trimmed branches don't touch the ground or they will root. The Pencil Plant (E. tirucallii) is a dangerous succulent that, insanely enough, is readily available on the market, even sold in grocery stores. I've seen this plant at Waterloo Gardens in Devon, PA, looking all pretty in a desert setting gift plant dish. Latex sap from this plant has been the cause of death, blindness and severe illness. The latex produces excruciating pain and severe inflammation if it gets into a cut on the skin . It could result in ulcerations if it gets into your eye, basically burning away your eyeball! Just one drop of latex on your skin can cause a rash the severity of which depends on how allergic each individual is to it. 

 Usually if I get any latex sap on me or the fumes accumulate (yes, even the fumes) the only reaction I get is a strange lip numbing like Novocaine. When George chops it (start at the bottom so it doesn't drip on you) he just gets the numb lips too, and that's about it. 


 

 But yesterday, somehow it got into my eye. I was being very careful, taking all the precautions, but who knows? A breeze, a squirt on the skin then wiping sweat away.... I suddenly felt as I imagine it would feel to have acid thrown into your face. The pain in my right eye was just as it's warned - an excruciating burn.

 Do you remember the scene in "Alien 2" where Carter Burke  looks at Ripley and says "Acid for blood!"? 

I was in my own living Alien hell. I washed the eye, pouring water into it, I showered to get any sap off, I threw all my clothes in a pile, then could only sit with a cloth pressed to my face and wait. I tried to cry by thinking of all the losses in my life, all the sad images I could summon, which isn't easy when you're essentially a happy person and not a drama queen. I actually started laughing!  I thought of cutting up an onion but that might just make things worse. Meanwhile I'm thinking I'll have to go to the hospital - might as well cut my head off now. I might be blinded - don't read the internet. What if it lasts for hours and hours - get more rum....! 

My sinuses started to swell, the right side of my face was getting thick and congested. Oh great, my eye is melting and now I'm going to suffocate!

After some web research the strategic decision was made to deal with the allergic reaction. The caustic sap was gone, now it was a matter of my body taking over because of this onslaught. Time to tell it, it's all ok. George went to Lily's Market where they thankfully and surprizingly had ...... Benedryl! Within 45 minutes the symptoms had gone and I was relieved, though I still had to keep my eye protected from light. Once the sun went down I could remove my cloth. After a second dose I was out for the count. The entire event took 3 anxious and painful hours. I was a very lucky lady. Very lucky.

In our experiences, when a crisis happens here it tends to happen suddenly and with intensity. You don't know you've been gotten until you're got and now you're dealing with damage control. There are many toxic plants, stinging insects, thorned and spiky surfaces. It's a harsh environment and everything has a defense to survive. A wound lasts for days without healing and can get infected. Antibacterial cream is a must.

Once when I was working with the National Park Trail Maintenance group I came in contact with Christmas Bush. Much like poison ivy, it has a caustic oil. Within a day my arm was being eaten by blisters that formed lines that were daily creeping upwards to my armpit, the itching was unbearable ( more rum!). Wherever a blister touched fresh skin more blisters would form. Soon my flesh was being eaten away. Another volunteer had it too, we think it was on some tools or gloves - it's that transferable. She's a nurse and got us steroids that blasted the stuff, but not before my arm looked like it had been burned in a microwave. It was months before the splotches faded. 

This is One Reason Not to Wear Flip Flops Hiking

So maybe I'll leave George to the Pencil Plants of the future and I'll stick to crab farming.