So
I "presented" two days ago with a few misshapen red spots on my arm and
leg that had a mild burning sensation- similar to a sun burn. From
there I developed a few small blisters- again similar to a burn. At
first I thought I had a spider bite and a dr. at urgent care prescribed
an anti-biotic in case of possible skin necrosis (gross)
and then secondary infection. I have been on-line the past two days
trying to figure out what I have since there was more than one affected
area and no swelling, itch or intense pain (like one might see with a
spider bite).
Finally, this morning, I had the "aha!" moment I had
been searching for- Phytophotodermatitis caused by contact with wild
parsnip! In case you were not aware (and who the hell would be?!)- the
"juices" from the wild parsnip plant (which I have been handling
recently with my caterpillar rearing) can cause hyper-sensitivity to sun
light (I have also been lying out in the sun daily in preparation for
our trip to Mexico) and produce burns where ever the parsnip juice
touched skin. Duh! Okay- so who the hell would have ever guessed that?
Not my urgent care doctor- that's for sure! Not that he wasn't
knowledgeable and helpful- but as it turns out, the internet is where I
finally got an answer to my medical mystery. Also- the antibiotics
prescribed by the doctor can cause photo-sensitivity- so probably should
stop taking those huh?
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| Kind of a creepy chrysalis... alien-like. |
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| It's strange how one cocoon is brown and this one is bright yellow-green. |
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| One of my phytophotodermatitis burns. |
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| Yuck! |
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| The offending plant- pretty isn't it? ;) |
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