Hogweed burns: what they look like and how they should be treated. What is dangerous and how to treat a hogweed burn? How to treat a burn from hogweed

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The hogweed plant, a widespread and dangerous plant in Russia today, is an unsuccessful result of the Communist Party’s experiment in breeding cheap food for cattle. However, we still have to disentangle the results of this experience today. Huge plantations and lonely growths of this poisonous representative of the flora pose a serious danger to human health. In addition, hogweed stems located in weed thickets can sometimes not be immediately detected and can result in a burn.

Burns from hogweed are very dangerous and fraught with serious consequences.. That is why providing first aid and further treatment of such lesions is one of the priorities in home medicine.

The danger of hogweed and symptoms of damage

The damaging effect of hogweed is that its roots, stem and leaves contain furocoumarins, which sharply increase sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation hundreds of times. When in contact with the skin of an unsuspecting person, hogweed leaves no visible marks. But after some time, the skin quickly burns in the sun, mild symptoms appear on its surface, quickly progressing to more complex forms.

Even hogweed juice left on the skin in cloudy weather causes harm. After all, with the slightest exposure to ultraviolet radiation, even for several minutes, signs of a severe burn will appear in such an area. The danger of hogweed increases greatly during its flowering period (July-August). After all, toxic substances are released into the air, even without contact, thereby causing harm to health.

The primary symptom of a hogweed burn is usually normal redness with moderate itching, without significant concern. At first, you may not pay attention to the symptom. But if you do not take action, then over time, swelling in the affected area increases, in some cases leading to impaired joint mobility. There is a growth of erythema with its gradual transformation into transparent blisters filled with liquid. This course of symptoms indicates the onset of a more severe lesion. Thus, if you come into contact with hogweed, it is necessary to quickly take action to provide assistance. The suddenness of the manifestation of the above-mentioned signs is another argument in favor of the increased danger of the plant.

Ulcers left by hogweed sometimes take up to three months to heal. In their place, spots remain, often in the form of a dark-colored leaf, which persist for several years. Hogweed is especially dangerous for children, due to the tenderness of their skin, as well as for people with red hair.

Depending on the period of contact with the leaf, as well as solar radiation, the contacted tissues cover burns from hogweed: from slight skin redness, followed by blisters, to deep ulcers, strong in the veins and slowly healing wounds. If the body is burned, the outcome is more than 80% likely to be fatal.

First aid in case of defeat

Rinse the area of contact (even possible contact) for a long time and thoroughly with water using soap and thick foam. If bubbles appear, they should not be wetted.
Treat the affected and contacted areas of the skin with a solution of alcohol, potassium permanganate, or furatsilin. (This will help de-grease the skin and loosen the lesion.)
Lubricate the affected areas with anti-burn agents (Rescuer, Panthenol, Opazol).
Hide the damaged areas from any exposure to sunlight, both direct and indirect. It's best to avoid sun exposure altogether for the next 48 hours.
It is imperative to take antihistamines. After all, the plant has a serious allergenic effect and can lead to general and local reactions.
It is acceptable to use an anti-inflammatory drug (for example, paracetamol).

Open blisters yourself, as this promotes the development of infection and also slows down the recovery process.
Apply clay or soil to the damaged areas, make urine or milk lotions, and lubricate the wounds with fat. This increases the likelihood of infection.

Treatment of burns

Treatment of a burn from hogweed is carried out only after contacting medical institutions for qualified medical assistance. Many people are mistaken, mistakenly believing that burns of the mentioned plant are treated like other burns (for example, with boiling water). But when treating lesions with plant poisons, in particular hogweed, other drugs are used, namely:

Activated carbon (up to 5 tablets 3 times a day before meals);
Antibacterial agents (1 drop of doxycycline 2 times a day);
Antihistamines (1 tablet of kestin at night);
Anti-burn ointments (fucarcin 2 times a day);
Hormone-containing creams (Triderm, Neoderm).

In addition to the above medications used in medicine to combat hogweed burns, there are many other proven remedies. Zinc ointment containing Vaseline has a good healing effect. They also use “Tsindol” (a homeopathic medicine), which forms a membrane on the surface of the burn that prevents further skin damage. Apply similar ointments several times a day until the pain disappears and the skin is restored. Lavender oil has effective healing properties, which disinfects the wound and accelerates skin regeneration processes.

At a medical facility, the blisters are opened and the liquid is removed. After this, you should not remove the bladder cover; it is better to apply a wound-healing antibacterial agent and cover with a bandage.

Patients with lesions on more than 10% of the body surface, as well as burned areas on the face, mucous membranes, and feet are required to undergo a course of hospital treatment. Its duration depends on the severity of the lesion.

To summarize, it is worth paying attention again to the danger of hogweed and the need not only to avoid contact with it, but also the places where it grows. When contact with hogweed could not be prevented, then it is necessary to remember the basic rules for providing assistance in case of plant burns and to implement them immediately. Treatment of such lesions is possible only after seeking medical help from specialized institutions and receiving advice from knowledgeable persons.

Burns from hogweed should be treated using the following methods - lubricate the irritated areas with anti-burn ointments, such as Panthenol, Rescuer or Opazol. In addition, it is necessary to hide the burn areas from the sun's rays (both direct and indirect). The best solution would be to avoid exposure to the sun for the next 2 days.

It is also important to start taking antihistamines, since hogweed has a strong allergenic effect and can cause both local and general reactions, including the development of angioedema. You can also take anti-inflammatory drugs (for example, Paracetamol).

Help for hogweed burns

Help for a hogweed burn should be provided as quickly as possible - this will alleviate the course of the disease and avoid unpleasant complications. If you notice that you have touched the hogweed, or if plant juice gets on your skin, immediately move into the shade. After this, rinse the area in contact with the hogweed with running water and apply a bandage to this area to protect the damaged area from the sun. After washing, you can also treat the lesion with a solution of potassium permanganate (Furacilin) or alcohol.

If the affected area is very large or blisters appear, you should seek help from a specialist. The doctor will be able to prescribe the necessary treatment that will help get rid of the burn and avoid serious consequences.

Medicines

The following medications are used in the treatment process:

activated carbon (up to 5 tablets three times a day before meals);
antibacterial drugs (for example, Doxycycline 1 capsule twice a day);
ointments against burns (for example, Fukortsin twice a day);
immunosuppressive (Chloroquine 2 times/day) and antihistamines (Kestin 1 tablet/day at night);
creams containing hormones (Triderm and Neoderm).

Doxycycline may cause side effects such as vomiting and nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Allergies (itching, swelling, skin rashes), increased sweating and dizziness are also possible.

To prevent ulceration of the esophagus, Doxycycline should be taken with plenty of liquid. Still in the process of treatment, as well as the next 4-5 days. After its completion, it is necessary to avoid exposure to direct sunlight or ultraviolet radiation.

Fukortsin has the following side effects: short-term pain and burning. It is not recommended to apply to large parts of the skin, because the phenol contained in the drug easily enters the bloodstream and can cause a toxic reaction (a sharp drop in blood pressure, weakness, dizziness, and respiratory distress).

During treatment with Chloroquine, you need to undergo regular examinations by an ophthalmologist, and also monitor the cellular composition of the blood. Among the side effects:

Gastrointestinal tract: nausea with bouts of vomiting, sharp abdominal pain, poor appetite.
Sense organs, nervous system: psychosis, sleep problems, dizziness, possible headaches, seizures.
Cardiovascular area: decreased blood pressure, myocardial damage (indicators on the electrocardiogram change), thrombocytopenia and leukopenia.
Allergies: photosensitivity and dermatitis.
Other: hair loss (possible change in color), myalgia, and arthralgia.

Kestin has the following side effects:

nausea;
drowsiness;
dry mouth;
asthenic syndrome;
headache;
epigastric pain;
dyspepsia;
insomnia;
sinusitis.

It is not recommended to prescribe Kestin in case of hypersensitivity to the drug, pregnancy and lactation, or for children under 6 years of age according to indications. If hepatic metabolic disorders, renal failure, prolongation of the QT interval, hypokalemia are observed, the drug is prescribed only in extreme cases.

Treatment of hogweed burns at home, folk treatment

If hogweed juice gets on your skin, you should immediately blot the area with a napkin, and then cover it with a tight bandage for several hours to prevent the wound from being exposed to sunlight. Then apply a thick solution of soap to the hogweed burns and wash them with water or vodka. Next, a napkin previously soaked in Furacilin solution is applied to the lesion.

After 2-3 hours, you can apply lotions to the irritated area to remove inflammation and dry the burned skin. Lotions are made from burnet root, as well as strong black tea and oak bark.

Homeopathy

When treating burns from hogweed, the homeopathic drug Tsindol is used. They lubricate the inflamed area 2-3 times a day. There is no need to apply a bandage, because the medicine creates a dense crust on the skin, thereby protecting the wound.

Hogweed is an extremely dangerous plant that was introduced into our country with the best intentions. Unfortunately, then no one knew what effect it could have on the body. It is very dangerous and leads to unpleasant consequences. Today, this weed grows not only in forests - the plant spreads very quickly, approaching cities, villages and summer cottages.

What is the danger of hogweed?

This plant belongs to the Umbrella family; in Russia there are 3 main species - Siberian hogweed, Montegazzi, Sosnovsky's hogweed. The last two species are dangerous to humans; skin damage occurs upon contact with any part of the plant, as well as when hogweed juice gets on the skin.

It is quite easy to distinguish dangerous species from non-dangerous ones. Siberian hogweed can grow up to 1 m in height. But Siberian and Montegazzi hogweeds grow up to 3 and 6 m, respectively - it is these giant plants that pose a threat to human health.

It should also be noted that this plant poisons the soil on which it grows. It releases toxic substances into it - this is a protective function necessary to suppress the growth of other plants. That is why you need to be careful when planting cultivated plants in places where hogweed used to grow. Often, eating fruits grown on such soil can lead to severe allergic reactions.

How do hogweed burns appear?

This plant has juice that contains fumocoumarin (bergaptene coumarin) - a substance that increases the skin's sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation hundreds of times. Therefore, if judged objectively, signs of damage on the skin appear not from the sap of the plant, but from the adverse effects of sunlight.

The plant is especially dangerous during its flowering period, which occurs in July and August. It is during these months that hogweed juice contains a huge amount of fumocoumarin, which weakens the protective properties of the skin and makes it vulnerable to UV radiation.

A burn on the skin appears after direct contact with the plant, as well as when trying to pull it out or cut it down - drops of juice fall on the skin, causing itching and burning.

Extensive burn on hand

After some time, if it is sunny outside, obvious signs of a burn begin to develop - redness, the appearance of blisters and erosions. It has been noted that the severity of manifestations largely depends on the weather. The hotter and sunny the day, the worse the condition after contact with hogweed.

What to do if you couldn’t avoid a burn?

If contact with the plant has already occurred, first aid should be started immediately. The person needs to be brought into the room, the place of contact with the plant should be washed with cool water, possibly using mild hypoallergenic soap.

The main prevention of deterioration of the condition is to reduce exposure to ultraviolet radiation on the skin. It is recommended to stay indoors for 2 days.

The affected areas should be lubricated with anti-burn agents (Rescuer, Panthenol). They have wound healing, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects.

Under no circumstances should you open blisters yourself if they appear; it is forbidden to lubricate the affected skin with fatty creams and oils.

Treating a burn at home

There are often situations when it is not possible to go to a medical facility after a hogweed burn. In this case, you need to take treatment measures yourself at home.

After first aid has been provided, you need to carefully monitor the condition of the skin at the site of contact with the plant. It is necessary to constantly apply emollients (Bepanten, Dexpanthenol) - topical products that soften the skin and reduce inflammation.

It is also necessary to take antihistamines, because when burned by hogweed, an allergic reaction often occurs. It is better to use the latest generation of antihistamines, which need to be taken only once a day. These include:

Ebastine;
Cetirizine;
Fexofenadine;
Akrivastine;
Loratadine;
Terfenadine.

If the condition worsens, and there is still no opportunity to see a doctor, it is necessary to use anti-inflammatory drugs (Nimesil, Paracetamol, Pentalgin). These medications will help relieve fever, pain and inflammation.

Traditional and folk methods of treatment

If there is extensive skin damage, as well as if the general condition worsens, you should immediately consult a doctor. Also, medical intervention is required for burns in children, burns accompanied by an allergic reaction (swelling, bronchospasm) and damage to the mucous membranes (for example, in the oral cavity).

A specialist will examine the skin and prescribe effective treatment. The following medications are currently used:

Antihistamines in tablets- Erius, Alerzin, Clemastine.
Systemic glucocorticosteroids- Prednisolone, Hydrocortisone.
Local hormonal ointments— Neoderm, Hydrocortisone ointment, Triderm. Recommended during the recovery period.
Sorbents— Activated carbon, Enterosgel, Smecta.
Antibacterial drugs- Doxycycline, Tetracycline. Necessary for the prevention of secondary bacterial infection.
Homeopathic remedies and essential oils- lavender oil, Tsindol. It is allowed to use these drugs after the acute symptoms of a burn have subsided, for a speedy recovery of the skin.
Drying ointments- Zinc ointment.

Also, in a hospital setting, observing the rules of asepsis, the bullae (blisters) are opened, then the skin areas are treated with local antiseptics and a sterile bandage is applied.

If the area of skin damage is more than 8-12%, a course of treatment in a hospital is recommended.

Unfortunately, hogweed burns require long-term treatment, which can sometimes last from 3 to 6 weeks. After contact with the plant, the skin requires long-term recovery - for this, physiotherapeutic methods are used (magnetic therapy, thalassotherapy).

In addition to the main (drug) treatment, it is possible to prescribe folk remedies. Their advantage is that they are much cheaper, and they can also be used to treat bloating in childhood.

The following methods of alternative medicine are considered the most effective:

Lotions with strong black tea.
Lotions with decoction chamomile, oak bark and burnet root. To prepare this remedy, you need to take dried and crushed plants in a ratio of 1:1:2, pour boiling water over them. Simmer the resulting mixture in a water bath for 30 minutes, then strain and let cool. Lotions are made as follows. Take a small piece of natural fabric, moisten it with a decoction and apply it to the affected area of the skin for 10-15 minutes. You can do such procedures every 3-4 hours.
Lubrication lavender, sea buckthorn, olive oil. This remedy should be used only after the obvious symptoms of the acute period have passed. You need to lubricate the skin 2-3 times a day.

These products relieve itching and burning well, and also help the skin recover. Remember that traditional methods can only be used after consultation with a doctor.

The best way to avoid it is to avoid touching or contacting the plant. However, this is not always as simple as it seems. Unfortunately, the prevalence of hogweed is growing every year, as are the consequences of this - massive burns, especially among children. People who are engaged in agriculture, as well as children who play in nature, most often come into contact with this plant.

To avoid unpleasant symptoms, you must adhere to basic preventive measures:

If you notice a plant in your summer cottage, it is better to get rid of it in the spring, before the flowering period.
If you need to weed the garden, it is better to use tools rather than do it manually.
It is better to carry out work in the country in the morning or evening, when the sun is not so active, as well as in cloudy weather.
It is necessary to use closed clothing made from natural fabrics - this precaution will protect not only from burns by hogweed, but also from contact with other poisonous plants.
After agricultural work is completed, it is necessary to remove clothes and wash them.
Children need to be shown what hogweed looks like, explain why they should not touch it or play near it.

Usually these precautions should be enough to avoid burns from hogweed.

In conclusion, we can say that it is much easier to prevent it than to deal with its consequences later. But if it was not possible to avoid a burn, you should immediately provide first aid to the person and consult a doctor.

Quite often in the summer, after relaxing in nature or even at the dacha, people turn to doctors with burns from contact with the plant - hogweed. Children also often get such burns in the summer when they pick flowers, make straws out of hogweed stems, or simply play in the grass.

Causes of burns from hogweed

In general, hogweed is a fairly harmless plant and was even considered edible; at least previously it was grown for livestock feed. But some types of hogweed are not as harmless as they seem. The juice of Sosnovsky and Mantegazzi hogweeds is rich in essential oils containing furanocoumarins - photosensitizing substances. If they come into contact with the skin, these substances can greatly increase the skin's sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation, which can lead to sunburn, and this must be understood when choosing treatment tactics for burns from bospar. That is, the burn is caused by the boschevite itself; in fact, it is an ordinary sunburn, complicated by the presence of photosensitizers, and treatment should be carried out taking this fact into account.

The juice itself, without subsequent exposure to the sun, will not cause any reaction on the skin, so in cloudy weather, hogweed rarely causes severe burns.

Symptoms of a burn from hogweed

Directly touching the hogweed does not cause any unpleasant sensations, but after some time, from contact with the plant, a dark spot appears at the site of contact, then redness. This time directly depends on the illumination of the burned area of skin by the sun: the more intense it is, the faster the burn will appear and the more severe it will be.

This is precisely the difficulty of diagnosis. You were burned today, and the first symptoms will appear tomorrow or even later, spots will appear as if suddenly, the victim may not associate these spots with his walks on the grass.

Then, at intervals of a day or several days, blisters filled with liquid appear on the affected skin, the same as with any 2nd degree thermal burn.

With large areas of damage, body temperature rises. Next, the blisters merge over the entire area of the burn into one large bubble, rising above the skin level.

After 3-5 days the blister becomes less tense.

The skin on it may burst, the contents will leak out, revealing a painful wound.

The pain persists for at least a week. The thin skin becomes a crust. The crust lasts for 2-3 weeks and then crumbles away from the edges like any “scab”, revealing the bright pink, smooth surface of the new skin. By the end of the third week, the scab is very itchy. As the skin under the scab heals, so does its soreness.

Healing is long, at least a month. This is probably due to the fact that in addition to photosensitizing properties, Sosnovsky's hogweed also has genotoxicity (causes mutations in genes). A dark spot remains at the burn site for a long time, and scars may appear. Dark spots at the site of severe burns may remain for several years. Then the skin completely restores its normal color.

If in contact with eyes, hogweed can cause blindness. If more than 80% of the surface of a person’s body is affected by hogweed, it can be fatal.

First aid for hogweed burns

If plant juice gets on the skin, it should be thoroughly washed with soap and water and completely avoid exposure to sunlight and other UV radiation for at least 3 days by any means - cover with clothing, apply a clean, dry gauze bandage.

In the next 2 weeks, you should protect the affected areas of the skin from exposure to sunlight as much as possible, this will reduce the severity of tissue damage and help prevent the appearance of blisters, with only peeling of the skin.

If contact with hogweed goes unnoticed, which often happens with children, and a stain or blisters have already appeared, carefully rinse the affected area with a solution of chlorhexidine or furatsilin, let it dry, and apply a loose, clean, dry gauze bandage. Do not open the blisters under any circumstances; this will only slow down healing and expose the painful bottom of the burn.

If the incident occurred with a child, you should urgently show the little victim to a doctor. Only a doctor will be able to assess the extent of the damage and the need for hospitalization, or prescribe outpatient treatment.

Treatment of burns from hogweed

Until the blister ruptures, you are unlikely to help yourself or your child speed up healing. At this stage, it is only possible to relieve pain with ibuprofen or paracetamol, if any, and reduce the allergic mood of the body with antihistamines (suprastin, loratadine) for swelling and itching.

To remove tissue breakdown products from the blood in case of severe hogweed burns, sorbents (activated carbon, smecta) are taken.

The burn site should continue to be protected with a dry gauze bandage, which should be changed at least 2 times a day. Make sure the bandage remains dry. A wet burn is an excellent environment for the proliferation of pathogenic microbes, and in this case, treatment will take even longer. Signs of a secondary infection are: cloudiness of the contents of the blisters, separation of cloudy pus, the formation of golden crusts along the periphery of the lesions, redness and swelling of the edges of the wounds, a noticeable increase in pain and an increase in local skin temperature. If a secondary infection attaches to a burn, immediately consult a dermatologist.

Bursted blisters can be treated 2 times a day with Panthenol or Olazol spray for faster healing.

Steroid ointments (hydrocortisone, prednisolone) are rationally prescribed in the presence of erosions and ulcerative defects. Advantan, Locoid-Crelo - typical representatives of the group can be prescribed in short courses of 5 days. Long-term therapy is carried out only for special indications and is associated with severe side effects.

Complications and prognosis

Wound infection is the most common complication of all burns, and it is easier to prevent than to treat. The consequence of infection can be sepsis, a fatal condition that occurs at lightning speed.

The prognosis depends on the intensity and size of the lesion. The more extensive the burn, the worse the prognosis. If the injury is small and the burn is properly cared for, within a month only a speck will remain.

Prevention of burns from hogweed

There are other varieties of hogweed that are quite harmless, but if you are not sure which variety of this plant is in front of you, it is better not to pick or touch it.

Sosnovsky's hogweed is a rather large plant, an adult plant up to 3 meters high, with a thick stem and large bright green leaves. White small flowers are collected in umbrellas, slightly reminiscent of dill umbrellas.

Hogweed Mantegazzi even grows up to 6 meters in height, but this does not mean that small young plants are not dangerous.

Since Sosnovsky's hogweed is becoming more and more widespread throughout the world, especially in fields and near vegetable gardens in Russia, the former Soviet republics, Turkey and Europe, it is advisable to warn children about its danger.

However, hogweed is far from unique in terms of pungency. Most of these plants belong to the umbelliferous (celery) and rutaceae families and contain active substances from the furocoumarins group, and some are simply poisonous and cause burns in any weather. For example, almost the same burns are caused by wild parsnips - light, yellowish, almost salad greens, flowers with an umbrella, inconspicuous and the same color as the whole plant, pinnate leaves, with large teeth along the edges of the lobes, it also contains photocoumarins. The ash tree (or burning bush) is also dangerous because it releases essential oils into the air, which means you will get burned without even touching the plant, and simply walking nearby causes a burn in any weather. Avoid buttercup, stinging clematis, fragrant rue, and finally, nettles of all kinds - all of them can cause not only burns, but also allergic rashes.

About 40 species of hogweed grow in Russia. Some of them are grown for livestock feed, some are suitable for human consumption, and some are poisonous and cause late blight. It is enough just to touch the plant for the skin to become much more sensitive to ultraviolet radiation, and further exposure to the sun will provoke burns from hogweed up to the first degree of severity. The main danger is that immediately after contact with the plant no unpleasant sensations arise, that is, a person may not even know that he accidentally touched a plant somewhere and successfully spend the rest of the day frolicking in nature under the bright sun. And in the evening, despite the fact that the body was covered with light clothing that could protect against sunburn, burns and even blisters appear on the areas of the skin that came into contact with the plant. If there were no external reasons for the burn, then contact with poisonous plants can be suspected.

Actually, phytochemical burns are caused by the sap of the plant and only in sunny weather. Dew on hogweed is also dangerous, because it mixes with its juice. If it is cloudy outside or the person who touched the plant does not go out into the sun, then burns may not appear at all or may be mild. Hogweed juice contains substances - coumarin and furocoumarin, which cause increased skin sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation. By the way, an excess of these substances in the body can lead to vitiligo. The effects of contact with the juice can appear within two days if the skin gets exposed to sunlight. If the damage is severe, a relapse may occur in a year when the skin is exposed to the sun again in the form of the appearance of dark pigment spots on the sites of former burns. Hogweed poison is most dangerous during the flowering period of the plant - all summer. It is important to remember that light clothing may not protect against contact with sap, so it is better to avoid any suspicious plants without touching them.

Due to the large amount of essential oils in the juice, the plant can also sometimes cause allergies, and children playing with the hollow stem can get burns to their lips and oral mucosa.

Symptoms

It is not that difficult to recognize what a hogweed burn looks like, but its intensity may vary depending on the amount of poison that gets on the skin and the brightness of the sunlight. If in doubt, you can look at the burns from the hogweed photo. But such burns also have a number of common symptoms:

the affected areas of the skin itch and there is a burning sensation;
swelling may occur;
lethargy;
chills;
dizziness;
general weakness of the body;
headache;
decreased blood pressure;
sometimes the temperature may rise;
When exposed to large amounts of juice and intense sun exposure, watery blisters form on the skin.

Lethargy is one of the symptoms of a hogweed burn.

Even minor damage heals very slowly; most often, inflammation occurs in the damaged areas, and then pigment spots remain. With more severe burns, ulcers may form that will last for a very long time. It is best to avoid any contact with hogweed, as damage to more than 80% of the skin can be fatal.

Hogweed burns in children are especially difficult; they have more delicate skin and a weaker body than an adult. As a result, such damage can also provoke various disorders of internal organs. Therefore, if a child receives burns from hogweed, it is necessary to wash the damaged skin and immediately consult a doctor, otherwise the consequences can be very serious.

First aid

Timely treatment of hogweed burns will help minimize unpleasant consequences, although it will not remove them completely.

Here's what you need to do first: you need to wash off the plant juice from the skin, for this it is better to use an aqueous solution with laundry soap or baking soda; the juice is not washed off with plain water due to the presence of a large amount of essential oils in it. After using a soap solution, it is advisable to wash the skin with something containing alcohol (cologne, vodka, etc.). Simply wiping will not help here; the affected areas must be washed. After removing the juice from the skin, apply an emollient cream or ointment for hogweed burns. It would also be a good idea to treat the skin with an antiseptic and any remedy for burns, for example, Panthenol. Below is a more detailed answer to the question of how to treat burns from hogweed. But remember that under no circumstances should you apply fat to the wounds, sprinkle them with earth or ash, and open any blisters that appear. The ichor in the blisters may contain remnants of the poisonous juice of the plant, the contact of which with the skin will provoke new damage.

If you experience allergies, severe blisters, or more than 10% of your skin is affected, you should consult a doctor.

Treatment

There are several treatment options for hogweed burns.

Folk

With minor skin lesions and mild symptoms, treatment at home with folk remedies is possible. You should start by applying soap foam to the affected area for 10-15 minutes. The foam is washed off with water, vodka or alcohol. Then a compress with an antiseptic is applied; chlorhexidine, hydrogen peroxide, or furatsilin solution are suitable. If there are no antiseptics, cover the wound with baking soda for half an hour.

Lotions made from a solution of oak bark, black tea, and burnet root also have a good effect. To speed up healing, it is useful to smear damaged skin with lavender essential oil.

In general, the complex of restorative measures is similar to that used for burns, that is, various anti-burn ointments will also be useful here.

If the symptoms are too severe or treatment with folk remedies does not help, then you should contact a specialist so that he can carry out medication treatment.

Drug treatment

Most often, on the advice of the attending physician, the following treatments are suggested: - activated carbon (5 tablets half an hour before meals), antibiotics (doxycycline or others, but with the same active ingredient). If, in addition to burns, an allergic reaction is also observed, then antihistamines are used. External anti-burn agents also help well - gels, creams, ointments, such as: bepanten, panthenol, levomekol, cindol. Damaged areas are treated several times a day until the skin recovers.

If the face, mucous membranes and feet are affected, treatment is possible only in a hospital; in addition, the doctor prescribes antibacterial and symptomatic therapy.

Prevention

Burns from hogweed are easier to prevent than to treat later, so it is important to know basic preventive measures and be able to recognize the plant by its appearance. Here are a few distinctive signs, if present, it is better not to touch the plant:

herbaceous plant, height from 0.2 to 3 m;
the stem is hollow inside, often with small downs on the outside;
large, long-petioled leaves grow from a basal rosette (somewhat similar to large burdock);
leaves can be divided into several segments of different shapes;
the plant blooms with umbrellas (the inflorescence itself is very similar to dill) of small flowers, most often white, but bright pink or greenish-yellow colors are also found;
The main flowering period is June-July, then fruits are formed.

If hogweed has grown on a summer cottage, it is better to destroy it. To do this, you should choose days when there is no sun. It is advisable that the entire body be covered with clothing made of thick tarpaulin, and also use thick gloves; there are cases when the juice gets on the skin even through the fabric. Hogweed is most dangerous in the summer when it blooms, so it is better to eliminate it at other times of the year by uprooting all discovered specimens. If you water the plant before weeding, the toxicity of the juice will decrease slightly.

It is important to remember that the seeds of the plant can be stored in the ground for a long time, which is why it can sometimes be quite difficult to remove hogweed. A good way is to cut off the umbrellas with dried seeds, making sure that they do not fall to the ground, and burn them. Hogweed can also be mowed, but this will only help in getting rid of the weed if the mowed crop is burned immediately, otherwise even immature seeds can subsequently turn into a new plant. Another method of destruction is to trim flowers and buds at the beginning of summer, when the hogweed is just beginning to bloom. This option is effective if the plant does not yet occupy large areas, but it is very dangerous, since when pruning there is a high chance of coming into contact with poisonous sap.

Those who like to spend time in nature should also be careful. Hogweed grows in forests, along roadsides, on the banks of reservoirs and in mountainous areas, so it is advisable to dress in such a way that there is no exposed skin, do not wade through dense thickets of plants and avoid anything that seems suspicious. If hogweed grows in a clearing chosen for recreation, then it is better to look for another area so as not to get unpleasant consequences from the vacation.

Blooming hogweed can look quite harmless and even attractive. Especially for children due to the thick, hollow stem. And in general, as a rule, this is a huge plant up to 3 meters high with pretty flowers, but it is important to remember the danger it poses. There are even known deaths of children from burns of a large area of skin due to contact with hogweed. Therefore, before going out into nature or to the country, especially if hogweed is growing on the site, it is very important to explain to children that they should not touch unfamiliar plants and show what this poisonous representative of the flora looks like.

Despite the fact that not all types of plants are poisonous, and some of them were even eaten by our ancestors, you should not take risks and touch hogweed. After all, only an experienced botanist knows all the nuances and differences between poisonous and harmless species. By the way, the differences are not that significant. Therefore, you should not try to distinguish plants using photographs and descriptions posted on the Internet; the consequences may be too severe.