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The plant labeled ‘Britain’s most dangerous’ has crossed the Irish Sea, leaving a teenager so anguished he had difficulty walking and required morphine.
Jayden Channon, from County Tipperary, was exposed to the hated giant hogweed while gardening at a neighbour’s house in Lisronagh.
Unaware of the danger, he chopped it down, leaving his arms, legs, and neck defenseless against the sun as the sap got on his skin.
Soon after, his flesh broke out in painful blisters, leaving the 14-year-old hospitalized for three days and left with severe scarring.
His grandmother, Annemarie Channon, said: ‘He was just doing some tidying up in the garden and he was using the grass trimmer.
Jayden Channon, from County Tipperary, was exposed to the hated giant hogweed while gardening at a neighbour’s house in Lisronagh
Unaware of the danger, he chopped it down, leaving his arms, legs, and neck defenseless against the sun as the sap got on his skin.
“Obviously he didn’t realize the danger, he didn’t even know what it really was.
“When he came home that night, I looked at him and thought, ‘Jesus, Jayden, you should have worn your slacks and tank top, because you look like you’re all scratched up.’
“When he got up the next morning, the rash had quickly spread to his hands, legs and neck.
“The next day the rash had completely changed to these huge blisters.”
At Tipperary University Hospital in Clonmel, Jayden showed the doctors pictures of what he had cut – only to discover it was giant hogweed.
Annemarie thinks he had a combination of second and third degree burns.
She continued, “He was in chronic pain, to the extent that they put him on morphine one of the days in the hospital.
“He couldn’t really walk up and down the stairs because of the blisters and found everything so difficult.
Giant hogweed is an invasive species not native to the UK and often confused with cow parsley
The danger of the giant hogweed is its sap, which prevents the skin from protecting itself from the sun’s rays, leading to horrific burns
“He had to hold my shoulder as he walked down the hospital hallway to the bathroom because he had blisters on his knees.
“I was shocked at the damage it did – really shocked. I wouldn’t think a plant could do such damage.’
The danger of the giant hogweed is its sap, which prevents the skin from protecting itself from the sun’s rays, leading to horrific burns.
And to make matters worse, it does not cause any direct pain, so the victims often continue to burn in the sun without heeding any problem.
In addition, the juice only needs a short time to do its job.
Fortunately, Jayden’s wounds are not infected and he is now on the road to recovery.
But it could take years for his skin to return to normal.
“He couldn’t really walk up and down the stairs because of the blisters and found everything so difficult,” his grandmother explains.
Annemarie said: ‘Now he has to wear a special extremely strong sun cream and he can be sensitive to the sun for a long time.
“I talked to someone who is in the process of properly getting rid of these plants, and he said the worst case he heard was someone being sensitive to sunlight for 15 years.”
The giant hogweed is native to the Caucasus, but was introduced to Britain and Ireland as an ornamental plant in the 19th century, 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.