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A teenager had a blister the size of an orange and struggled to dress herself after a moment of contact with ‘Britain’s most dangerous plant’.
Ross McPherson believes he may have cycled past the dreaded giant hogweed while cycling near his home in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland.
A few hours later, he noticed his hand turning red and soon after burst into painful blisters that required hospital treatment.
The blisters then had to be removed without anesthesia, with the 16-year-old in so much pain that he passed out.
“I was riding my bike and I must have just driven past it,” said Ross. “It would have been seconds.
A teenager developed a blister the size of an orange and struggled to dress herself after a moment of contact with ‘Britain’s most dangerous plant’
Ross McPherson thinks he may have cycled past the dreaded giant hogweed while cycling near his home in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland
“When I first noticed it, my hand was just red and a little sore. I didn’t know what it was. It felt warm.’
Soon after, the blisters appeared.
He said: ‘The skin around my hand was swollen, it was hot to the touch and it hurt.
‘It affected my daily life a lot: I couldn’t put clothes on it and because it was over my joints I couldn’t really use my left hand.
“It felt like I had a giant balloon on my hand that was prone to pain at any time of the day.”
He added, “I could barely take my coat off, I could barely put on sweaters or T-shirts; it was basically unusable – I couldn’t do anything with it.
“I had smaller blisters above the knuckles, so moving my fingers was also excruciating, so I didn’t really do that either.”
Ross said his hand was initially assessed by his primary care physician, who diagnosed contact dermatitis.
But he would eventually be treated at Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary after a visit to the A&E department.
The teen had a mixture of second and third degree burns.
He described the pain as “absolute hell.”
He said: ‘The person we saw initially thought we should go to the Burn Unit in Livingston and get it done.
He noticed his hand turn red and soon after burst into painful blisters that required hospital treatment
“But they told her to just do it in the Royal Infirmary, so she cut it like a line and drained the fluid.
“Some of it was jelly, so she opened it up and pulled out the jelly, and she cut around all the dead and blistered skin and pulled it off — there was quite a bit.
“You’re not under anesthesia because they have to make sure the nerves aren’t damaged and you feel it – because in the more severe cases that can happen.
“It was absolute hell. It hurt so much. I passed out while doing it, it was that bad.’
When it burst, the largest blister was the size of an orange.
Ross said, “The largest was seven by eight inches. It was like an orange.
‘It was heavy; I could feel its weight on my hand all the time.’
“I had smaller blisters on the knuckles so moving my fingers was also excruciating so I didn’t really do that either,” he said
The teen had a mixture of second and third degree burns. He described the pain as “absolute hell”
The juice of the giant hogweed prevents the skin from protecting itself against the sun’s rays, leading to horrific burns when exposed to natural light.
Part of what makes it so dangerous is that it usually doesn’t cause immediate pain, so the victims can continue to burn in the sun without heeding any problem.
And the sap only needs a moment of exposure to do its job.
Now Ross’s hand is healing, but he will have to live with the consequences for a while.
He said: ‘It will remain sensitive for years and years, but they can’t give an exact number.
“They said you should put factor 50 sunscreen on it for years to come, or a glove in winter if possible.”
The giant hogweed is native to the Caucasus, but was introduced to Britain as an ornamental plant in 1817 and its spread is now out of control.
Mike Duddy, of the Mersey Basin Rivers Trust, said in 2015 that giant hogweed was ‘without doubt the most dangerous plant in Britain’.
If you are exposed to the plant, wash the area that has made contact thoroughly and keep it out of sunlight for a few days, advises the Woodland Trust.
Ross was adamant that it was giant hogweed he encountered, but an East Lothian Council spokesman said they had been unable to locate it.
They said: ‘Suspected giant hogweed was reported to us in Dunbar and after investigation of the site it was concluded that it was in fact common hogweed.
“Any report of giant hogweed will be fully investigated and action will be taken if it is on municipal land.
“Residents are requested and encouraged to report giant hogweed to us through the website or by calling the municipal contact center so that these plants can be dealt with as soon as they appear.”
An NHS Lothian spokesperson said they could not comment on a patient’s care without their consent.