By Kelly Miller
When it comes to plants that cut, sting, or irritate our skin, self-defense goes both ways. Hazardous plants use thorns and toxicity to protect themselves. Meanwhile, we use gear like gloves and masks to fend off those dangers.
Hazardous plants are common in the environment, and in our gardens, too. These include grasses and trees that cause seasonal allergies, prickly plants like roses and cacti, and plants that cause allergic skin reactions, such as poison ivy.
For each type of hazard, there are easy ways to avoid harm. Here are the best ways to protect yourself around hazardous plants outdoors.
Plants with Painfully Sharp Parts
Some plants produce extremely sharp parts that can break the skin. These include:
- Plants with thorns or prickles, such as roses, blackberry and raspberry bushes, greenbriers, and hawthorns.
- Plants with spines, such as cacti and holly leaves.
- Plants with sharp blades, such as yucca, agave, and foxtail grasses.
Protection Against Thorny Plants
Whether you’re hiking through the wilderness or harvesting your garden’s blackberries, you don’t want to leave any exposed skin that might contact thorns or spines. Avoid sandals or open-toed shoes, and make sure your skin is thoroughly covered, including forearms and lower legs.
Typical activewear materials, like cotton or polyester t-shirts and sweatpants, don’t offer much protection against sharp plants. Thorns can catch and tear the material, or punch through it. Instead, wear clothes with tightly woven fabrics, such as denim or canvas. Or, seek out “tactical” clothing made with ripstop fabrics, designed to resist punctures and tears.
When directly handling sharp, hazardous plants, gloves are your most essential PPE (personal protective equipment).
Rubber gloves and cotton gloves don’t protect against thorns. The best glove materials for thorn protection include cowhide leather, goat leather, or heavy-duty synthetic materials. Look for products labeled “thorn-resistant” or “puncture-resistant,” with reinforced areas on the palms and fingers.
Plants that Cause Contact Dermatitis
Certain plants contain allergens that cause contact dermatitis. Symptoms include rashes, dry or itchy skin, swelling, and blisters.
The most well-known hazardous plants to cause contact dermatitis are members of the Toxicodendron genus: poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak. These plants cause dermatitis through an oil called urushiol. Other common weeds that cause dermatitis include stinging nettle and giant hogweed.
Even lovely garden flowers can cause skin irritation. Bulb flowers like tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths contain oxalic acid, which causes a form of dermatitis known as “tulip fingers.”
Contact dermatitis usually isn’t serious, but it can be unpleasant. It’s a greater concern for individuals with sensitive skin or other skin conditions.
Protection Against Plants that Irritate the Skin
Protection against toxic plants starts with covering the skin to prevent direct contact. Compared to dealing with thorny plants, PPE for toxicity doesn’t have to be as heavy-duty or puncture-resistant. However, PPE must be carefully removed and cleaned after use.
Safety note: never burn poison ivy or other highly toxic plants. The smoke released from burning toxic plants can cause serious lung injury.
After handling toxic plants, carefully remove affected clothing. To reduce exposure, turn each item inside out as you pull it off. Leave your shoes outside, to be thoroughly washed later.
If possible, put your clothes directly into a plastic bag or plastic laundry basket. Take them straight to the washing machine, then dispose of the bag or, wearing gloves, clean the basket with soap and water. One wash cycle, with plenty of hot water and detergent, is usually sufficient for removing urushiol from clothing. However, it’s important to wash the clothes as quickly as possible. The allergens become harder to remove as time goes by.
If skin contact with a toxic plant occurs, acting fast reduces the effects. If you touched poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac, the US Food and Drug Administration recommends immediately washing the skin with soap and water. If a rash develops, avoid scratching. Seek medical attention if serious symptoms, such as fever, occur.
Plants that Produce Airborne Allergens
Around 7% of US adults suffer from hay fever, a chronic allergic reaction to seasonal allergies, causing cold-like symptoms. Seasonal allergy symptoms can make you feel sick for weeks on end. Heavy exposure to seasonal allergens can also lead to complications, such as lung damage.
Seasonal allergic reactions to plants occur when we breathe in pollen, the powdery substance that flowering plants release for reproduction. Pollen particles float through the air and often end up in our eyes, noses, and lungs.
Many types of plants produce pollen that causes allergic reactions, including:
- Trees, such as cedar, maple, oak, pine, and birch.
- Grasses, such as Bermuda, fescue, Kentucky blue, and ryegrass.
- Weeds, such as ragweed, lambsquarters, and pigweed.
Sources of pollen are difficult to avoid entirely, but it’s helpful to know the likely sources of your allergic reactions. Then, there are some helpful steps you can take to reduce exposure and treat symptoms.
Protection Against Inhaling Pollen
If you suffer from hay fever, it’s good to know which plants are putting the most pollen into your local air.
Tree pollen is most abundant in spring, while grass pollen is more irritating in late spring and summer. In autumn, many regions suffer from large amounts of ragweed pollen. Overall, seasonal allergies are worst in spring and fall.
Time of day matters, too. Pollen levels are lower in the morning, then peak in the late afternoon. So, morning is the best time for outdoor activities. Meanwhile, pollen exposure is worst during dry spells. Rain helps clear the air.
Here are a few ways to reduce pollen exposure:
- Monitor the local “pollen forecast” on pollen.com.
- Keep doors and windows closed when pollen levels are high.
- Wash clothes after they’re exposed to heavy pollen.
- If you’re gardening or mowing the lawn while pollen levels are high, wear a face mask. Masks effectively prevent pollen inhalation and may also reduce hay fever symptoms by making the air you breathe warmer and more humid.
Know Which Plants to Avoid
Hazardous plants shouldn’t necessarily be avoided, as long as they’re handled carefully. However, there are certain plants that don’t belong in home gardens, due to extreme health risks or their potential to damage the environment. Learn which plants to strictly avoid in our guide: 12 Landscape Plants to Avoid Growing.
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