Anyone want to see the progression of a Giant Hogweed burn?

I came back from a sunny ride on 16th September 2021. This was my leg, 36 hours later.

Later that day:

This is the content I signed up for. Surprised it’s not a WCA thread, obviously.

By day 15:

Day 17, by this stage having trips to the minor-injuries every 2 days.

Day 24

How did you come into contact with it, out of interest? (we have them on the local river banks)

They talk about these burn last a considerable period, hows your going? (or how long did it last?)

I see… were getting updates 😱

for anyone who didnt have a clue what a Hogweed is…..

https://www.rhs.org.uk/weeds/giant-hogweed

Bit graphic now so I’ll use links instead of direct embeds:

Day 39: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7xN6dnreErT2Uy5C9

I’m surprised they didn’t just chop it off at the knee TBH.

Day 55: https://photos.app.goo.gl/TrhKuH1MNnP88obAA

Day 63: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PbpNnppFaKpVcXft6

Day 71: https://photos.app.goo.gl/sj8ckXqNeuNa1uV66

Day 85: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Vs2wpxMC7FMhGBit7

Day 108. Given clearance by the nurse to swim again. https://photos.app.goo.gl/uF5koDe3TvuzMkFh9

That looks pretty awful – are you sure it was giant hog weed, not something else you got on your skin?

I’ve seen plenty of (images of) blistering from it but not the abscesses.

Which brings us up to yesterday, day 145: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xXZzafosLH2eqvYU7

And the fun thing? For an indeterminate amount of time, the ****-up DNA in my shin will burn again in the same way if exposed to strong sunlight. This could be months or years and I guess the only way to find out exactly how long would be to find out, which I don’t want to do.

thats a great set of photos there. 100 days before being allowed to swim. Presumably this was just a glancing strike and you didnt set off rolling through the stuff.

I started feeling queasy at Day 15, glad you went to links!

Jeez, that is nasty. Is it a native species?

There’s no other candidate. I don’t work with anything dangerous. It flared up a couple of days after a very sunny ride in shorts around overgrown field edge paths, so it’s really very likely to have been hogweed. The hospital had seen a lot of injuries with it this year including one of their own staffers who ended up at East Grinstead burns unit.

Jeez, that’s really nasty! I was aware of it as a nasty plant, but didn’t realise it burns to that extent and how long lasting the effects are!

ended up at East Grinstead burns unit.

That’s pretty serious! (My BiL ended up there when the petrol tank on a car he was welding exploded)

Presumably this was just a glancing strike and you didnt set off rolling through the stuff.

Yeah, but apparently a lot of the sap is in the leaves.
It’s not absolutely 100% certain it was hogweed but there’s basically nothing else it could have been that anyone can think of, and the timings were spot-on between my ride and the blister coming up.

Essentially it was a small third-degree burn, and was treated as such. I wish I’d bought shares in Duoderm back in the summer.

How did you come into contact with it, out of interest?

Not even sure where it would have been, but it’s pretty endemic in East Kent. I went out on the gravel/cross/singlespeed/whatever you want to call my Surly KM with cross bars and tyres, rode to Dover and back along woodland paths and field edges. If anywhere it was probably at the Dover end – I’ve seen it recently at Kearsney Abbey and this stuff really spreads.

Is it a native species

No, its listed as a non-native invasive species.

http://www.nonnativespecies.org

🤮

That is all I have to say.

I didn’t want to keep reading but I did 🤢

Impressive. That looked like my hand when I was on fire at work, around 1985. Mid winter, in a foundry , late shift, only 4 people working. I was wrapped up, thick trousers, donkey jacket, but had to wear my technicians long coat/dust jacket. I didnt realise it was on fire around my thighs When the flames were getting up to my chest I realised what had happened and got undressed sharpish. On pulling the jacket off, the melting nylon stuck to my hand, it wasnt painful at first, but a week or so later it looked just like yours. Still scarred there now.

but didn’t realise it burns to that extent and how long lasting the effects are!

Technically it doesn’t burn you, it makes you unbelivable sensitive to UV. So you can go on a night ride then get teh burn the next day. if you get it on you and realise you cover it up immediately with anything you have.

There are native hogweeds but giant is unmistakably huge, its abit trickier to identify before the stalk and flower head grow but its worth learning to identify. the plant tracker app is pretty good for checking where it has been identified on a map, helping you identify it and allowing you to register it for others. ITs a massive issue for the work i do on the railways and river banks you can spend a day getting to something then you just have to turn round and leave because you can’t get near it.

Yeah it’s pretty horrendous stuff.

Genesis

Pretty horrific.

Mind if I use the pictures in a briefing at work?

its abit trickier to identify before the stalk and flower head grow but its worth learning to identify

Looks like an angry purple veined white/green member preparing to explode.

It’s why we need to go all Canadian about the dangerous invasive species. Proactive, and big fines if you don’t sort it out

If we actually made an effort it could be eliminated or as close to as possible

**** me.

Eye bleach… Pass the eye bleach….!

Technically it doesn’t burn you, it makes you unbelivable sensitive to UV. So you can go on a night ride then get teh burn the next day. if you get it on you and realise you cover it up immediately with anything you have

Yep, tree surgeon mate of mine got it on his hands and wrists.
Couldn’t work for ages. His hands were a right mess. Not helped by being out in the sun all day the following day. Didn’t work for a while after that.

Pretty horrific.

Mind if I use the pictures in a briefing at work?

Yeah go ahead, I’m fine with that.

They were great if somewhat disgusting pictures.  I knew about it and the uv thing but not that it was so bad. I am duly warned, thank you. We had it on a riverbank near where I went to school but thankfully now I never touched it

Thanks for sharing – those images serve as a salient reminder of the dangers of this plant! I hope you continue to recover well. There are a couple of sites that show maps of reported sightings of giant hogweed that I sometimes look at if I’m going to a new area (although I don’t know how up to date they are kept):
https://www.planttracker.org.uk/map/giant-hogweed
https://whatshed.co.uk/giant-hogweed-map/

Hang in there buddy, when I 1st clicked this thread, I figured it was gonna be someone with a weedburner and some crazy flame activity, but boy was I mistaken.

All handy to know and wish you the best with your recovery