For the past five years or so I always get a rash on my face a couple times a year after working out in the garden. I'm in it almost everyday in the growing seasons and generally have no reaction. This is the first time it's happened in my flower garden up north at our cabin. All the flowers there come from my garden at home and this time, it's the worst rash ever.
Sometimes it appears more like welts but generally covers my cheeks like a bright pink sunburn. Rash is the best word I can come up with although when I think of a rash it is a speckled area of red dots and that isn't what this is. I can feel it on my chin and forehead too although those areas aren't pink like my cheeks. It's hot and feels like it's just on the top layer of skin. The swelling this time, is around my eyes and quite uncomfortable.
I worked on pulling out some plants to down-size a landscaping area in the front of the cabin and removed some pompass grass that has gotten out of control in a back landscaping bed. I worked all Friday afternoon with no tell tale sign of having an issue. Normally I get a tingling feeling in my face as a warning. Saturday morning I woke up to a very angry rash. I took a benadryl in hopes of calming it but it only prooved to make me tired. This is the first time it hasn't helped. I put ice packs on my face in the afternoon and took two benadryl before bed. This morning the swelling around my eyes has worsened. I hoped that being upright would help but after a couple of hours of being up- no change. At least my eyeballs don't itch today but I'm thinking that wearing my contacts today would be not such a good idea. It will take a couple of weeks before it will go away. Any ideas of what could help expedite the process?
Staying inside is not an option. I have fewer varieties of plants at the cabin than at home. Trying to figure out what is causing it seems impossible. The plants I came into contact with are: hastas, chives, primrose, raspberry bush, low growing seedum, pampass grass, and daisies. I guess it doesn't matter because I most likely would not erdadicate a specific plant/flower from my garden without being absolutely sure it was causing me grief.
How is it that sometimes the things we love most cause the greatest amount of problems? Flowers to an outdoor fanatic? Pizza, bread, and cookies to a MCer?
As a side note: never ever plant pampass grass where you don't want it to spread. Novice mistake with the thoughts that pulling it out where I didn't want it would be no problem. I planted it as a small clump near the foudation of the cabin thinking it would be a nice visual. I'm kicking myself in the pants now. It's everwhere! The root system is so dense and runs everywhere. I think I dug it all up but know I will most likely be puling it for many years to come. I love AND despise it.
I, too, love the outdoors and working in my garden. Someday, I will learn to hire that work done every time - not just on occasion. Staying healthy is a full time job!
