Long time no see...

[muckdiva]

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I visited the forum, mainly because I had an awful eczema flare up which got worse and worse during the summer, and it transpires I'm somewhat allergic to some of the leaves and pollen of my veggie plants - tomatos and potatos seem to cause the worst reaction.

So, everything in the garden has gone to pot as I've not ventured to do much.... bit depressing really.

Anyway, I don't mean to give up veggie gardening, but I will have to play by ear what can and can't be grown. I've also been to an allergy guy in London who's given me some desensitising drops; lets hope they work so I can get things up to scratch (didn't even notice that pun!) for next season.

I wondered if anyone else on the vine has allergies to certain plants?

[Alice]

Welcome back Muckdiva. Hope your eczema is much better and you can find a way to carry on with growing your vegetables.

[carlseawolf]

and a welcome back from me

[shirlthegirl43]

Welcome back. Hope you get the eczema under control soon.

[rustylady]

Welcome back Muckdiva!! There are several ways you can minimise your contact with plants that may cause you problems. Even if it's hot I always garden in boots, trousers, longsleeved top (light cotton if it is hot weather). Gloves are important too if you have allergic reactions - either leather or suede (which I prefer), or cheap latex throwaway ones. If it's pollen that's causing the problem you may have to take antihistamines, or possibly consider wearing a facemask!! Good luck, try everything you can.

[Flummery]

Glad to see you back Muckdiva - and also to hear that you are not giving in to the old allergies. I don't have a real allergy but I do come out in very dramatic weals if I let goose grass foliage near my arms. If I'm dragging it out of the hedge-bottom I have to make sure I have long sleeves on (which then get covered in the sticky seeds!)
Good luck for the coming season.

[lainey lou]

I can recommend Health Kinesiology for allergies, it can actually "switch them off" sounds a bit weird but it worked beautifully for my son.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Good to see you MD - funny ol' thing, allergies!

I've got rhino hide skin but even that didn't prevent me from getting forearms full of watery blisters and scratches (which took literally MONTHS to heal and fade - looked like I was self harming...) on two occassions at the Hill this year.

I have no idea what it was - best guess seems to be parsnip, but I'm around the parsnip all the time and the reaction has only been twice...

I was fortunate to shrug it off - must be awful not be able to garden because of it. Hope the treatment works for you.

[momol]

Hi Muckdiva,

Welcome back, sorry to hear about your allergy. I have bad allergy too ... but not really to plant but to the hairy caterpilar ( moth larva ?) it cause my whole body to swell.
I took several precoutions such as putting on long sleeves, wearing gloves, long trousers, rubber boots and a hat on... but it does makes me looks pretty funny...
I do have some skin reactions to Cucurbitacea ( squash, cucumber...), but the rash go away after several hour. I hope the desensitising work for you as it will only work for specifiek allergen.
Don't give up on GYO yet...

Momol

[bluemoon]

Welcome back Muckdiva
I too have exactly this problem and in addition to tomatoes and potatoes I also react badly to comfrey. I think it's the hairy stems and leaves on these plants which causes the trouble. In addition to trying all the other advice above, especially by covering-up (although it's not easy to prick out the toms when wearing gloves I'll grant you), I was helped enormously when I switched to 'eco-friendly' detergents. These seem to be naturally anti-allergenic and far better than the anti-allergen ones made by mainstream manufacturers. I began to use them for environmental reasons, but the reduction in flare-ups was a very nice side effect.

Stick with it and I hope you manage to get things under control soon.

love bluemoon

[Nicos]

Hi! ...and welcome back!
Sorry to hear you've had a tough time of things, but at least you can start learning alternative ways of gardening??
I'm not ( as far as I know at least !) allergic to any fruit or veg , but will run a mile from a foxglove.

I wanted a perennial cottage garden in our first house, so sprinkled loads of flower seeds and the show was utterly fantastic.

HOWEVER...in the Autumn ( when it came to cut back) I was suddenly really ill- racing/pounding heart,very dizzy and nauseous, with an awful metallic taste in my mouth. ( no- it wasn't a cheap beer Bubblewrap!!)
The reaction was so quick that I still had the plant in my hand!
I hate gardening in gloves and clearly by grasping the plant and crushing the leaves as I held it had caused the release of the toxins/medication .
I still don't wear gloves unless a have to, but I just make sure those beautiful, but dreaded, plants aren't in my garden or veg plot.
Even pulling up little self-seeded seedlings for the next few years caused big problems!
I'm sure you'll be able to pass on loads of info on how to get round your problem?? ( glad it's not put you off gardening though!!)

[bubblewrap]

I'm not allergic to anything as far as I know(even cheap? beer) The only gardening problem I have is the soil in my lottie dries the skin of my hands.
But E45 soon sorts it out.

[moggssue]

Welcome back Muckdiva - so sorry to hear of the problems you've been having. Hope it doesnt keep you away from gardening for too long - stick with it, try everything and dont give up hope. Mostly, take good care!

[muckdiva]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the kind comments, and excellent tips too. Reading other grapes' posts, I can see that it's possible cope with a bit of planning ahead. The eczema flare up is more under control now, so it's all systems go for the new season, but I will heed the advice re long sleeves, gloves etc. Thanks everyone.

[veg4681]

So sorry to hear about your allergy that it's keeping you off from the things that we're all into, gardening & GYO. I used to have dreadful hay fever every summer (lasting 5-7 years) but I like to think it may have stopped due to the green tea supplements (in capsules) I'm taking . I fear I don't eat healthy enough on account that I don't exactly eat very unhealthy either so I thought I'd cheat with green tea. Summer is less of a problem for me as is the wintry season with frozen hand and feet syndrome that can sometimes be excruciatingly painful but joint pains, you can kill it off with steriods. We all have some forms of ailments but let's keep the hope alive that we can fight it off to continue this passion we call GYO .