Has anyone ever had any sort of reaction to a tomato plant? are they suposed to be irritant, i know there poisonous to eat but are they to touch?

Ive not grown them before , i have them in the house the biggest are now about 6 foot high great bushy things with masive hairy stems, i think there marmande, but not sure , there a giant lumpy italian tomato i know that much !, i was poking my hands through the plants to look at the tomatoes i have just found on them, looking how many there are as they are green they cant be seen but there are loads of tiny ones , but some upto 2.5 inch wide

Anyway, i pulled my hands out after looking through the plant, and within a few minutes i now have what looks like a rash from nettles on the back of my hands, i have been `stung` all over the back of my hands, red spots with clear blister on top and its so itchy!

The closest i have come to tomatoes is in baked beans as i dont eat tomatoes at all but i have been growing these since november and havent noticed them so hairy or had any reaction to them till now.

Is this in anyway normal for tomatoe plants , if it was nettles obviously it would be normal ?

Yep, this happens to me too. I'm not really happy that it happens to you too, starloc, honest, but it's quite nice to know I'm not alone. I think it's the hairy stems that does it. You might find you react to potatoes, comfrey and borage too. I'm OK until the plants get so huge that just watering them means your arms come into contact with them, at this point OH has to take over the care and harvesting.
It's weird though, every time I've seen a tomato, from being a child, I've desperately wanted to eat it, but one bite is more than enough, no matter how hard I try to acquire the taste I just can't. Perhaps my body telling me that in my case it would not be a good idea no matter how delicious they look?

PS, A Piriton tablet is usually enough to deal with the itch and rash.

Ahhh so its not just me then, thats good!,

Ive never been realy alergic to a plant before , but i have hayfever and asthma and im allergic to almost everything else ( im one of the i cant walk in the soap or washing powder isles in supermarkets without starting to sneeze for ages, and if someone with lots of perfume on walks past my throat and tongue swell up a bit!)

I have never even considered eating tomatoes no matter how much i think i should i just cant do it! , i only eat beans in tomato sauce , and not very often and not many of them, i never eat tomatoes cooked or raw , i never have , it must be as you say i just know not to eat them. There great fun to grow though.

I think im going to end up with something like piriton but i need to be carefull as i tend to get kidneystones if i take most tablets/medicines!

Its strange, ive always had very bad hayfever but since growing so many plants in the house i have no real hayfever anymore ( i did at first, but i have now become immune to flowers! )

Now is this weird, I was cutting down all the tomato plants down and I ended up covered in a rash all over my arms and hands which obviously is from the plant, but I am not allergic to the actual fruit. I love tomatoes and always have. Only this year have I noticed I react. It must be the hairs on the plant stalks

Sorry to go 'off topic' (as usual) but..

Starloc, if you are alergic to washing powder/fabric conditioner give Surcare a try no -fragrance!
I had rashes and sneezes all through my childhood, fresh bed linen, clean school clotyhes, it was hell!
i havnt had a rash from a tom though!
jon