Hogweed poisonous plant burns photo

Today we will talk about the poisonous plant hogweed, discuss how it can be dangerous to humans, describe first aid for burns from hogweed juice and provide information on alter-zdrav.ru on how to treat burns from it at home.

What kind of plant is hogweed, description, photo of what it looks like, where it grows

Hogweed Sosnovsky (Heracleum Sjsnowkyj). The genus Hogweed from the Umbrella family includes more than fifty species, some of which pose a serious danger to human health.

The plant received its Latin name Heracleum in honor of the hero of ancient Greece - Hercules. This name was given to it by K. Lineus for its enormous growth, for the speed of growth of shoots and for its indestructibility. Hogweed can reach a height of 3.5 - 4 meters, and its thickets are not so easy to defeat.

In Europe it is called Bear's Paw. Perhaps for its huge, rough, “paw-shaped” leaves. The stem is hollow, grooved, and covered with fine pubescence. The flowers are small, white, forming a huge umbrella. Insects readily visit this plant, but it is also capable of self-pollination. Poisonous hogweed blooms from early summer to mid-autumn.

It is by the white flowers that Sosnovsky's hogweed is distinguished from his harmless fellow Hogweed Siberian, in which the flower umbels are formed by yellowish-green flowers. Its Siberian counterpart, on the territory of ancient Rus', was used as food. They simply called it borscht.

There is an opinion that the well-known dish of the same name was originally prepared from Siberian Hogweed. The color of the brew was almost black, but the benefits from it were enormous.

Hogweed decoction is a wonderful antiseptic. The part of the stem that was used to prepare the dish had its own name - hogweed. And they stopped actively using hogweed when cabbage came into use.

Hogweed was grown for their own food, collected in bunches, dried in reserve, stored and even prepared for sale. In the old days they said that “... If only there were hogweed and saplings, we would live.” The unpretentious culture served people as a guarantee of food. Where it was not possible to grow anything else, they sowed borscht - “... sow borscht then, it’s always some kind of harvest.”

Sosnovsky's hogweed has descended from the mountains. It is in the mountains of the Caucasus and Turkey that it can still be found growing wild. The cold climate of the mountains is a favorable environment for the growth of this unpretentious crop. In 1944, it was first scientifically described, and in 1947 it began to be actively cultivated in a number of regions of the former USSR.

Hogweed was planted in botanical gardens as an ornamental plant. By planting plants along highways, they prevented domestic and wild animals from accessing them. But the main purpose of this crop was to provide food for farm animals.

In terms of growth rate, resistance to pests and growing conditions, and productivity of green nutrient mass, the new crop even surpassed corn, which was popular at that time.

Due to its qualities, hogweed was recognized as an advanced silage agricultural product and began to be cultivated in a number of regions on an industrial scale. With its help, they planned to revive war-ravaged agriculture, solving the problem of feeding agricultural livestock.

Much later, it was recognized that hasty decisions on the introduction and popularization of this culture were erroneous and, moreover, dangerous for human and animal health. “Thanks to” its adaptive qualities, which help and helped the plant survive in different conditions, the problem arose of ridding farmland of this plant.

The hogweed, having escaped the control of animal feed manufacturers, began to seize territories that did not previously belong to it and were not intended for it. After a number of properties were identified that pose a real danger to human health, Sosnovsky's hogweed was included in the "The Black Book of the Flora of Central Russia».

Why is hogweed dangerous?

The danger of hogweed, first of all, lies in its biological stability - its ability to withstand natural unfavorable growing conditions. What was the reason for its uncontrolled settlement on a scale considered critical in some regions.

The plant is adapted not only to grow in various conditions, but, thanks to its biological characteristics, to actively resist agricultural measures aimed at its destruction.

To no less an extent, the danger of hogweed is represented by its ability to cause serious harm to human health, sometimes irreparable.

In a short time, hogweed is capable of displacing competitors, quickly capturing new territories, forming a powerful population and becoming a dominant crop.

This happens thanks to:

1. adaptability to insect pollination, cross-pollination and self-pollination;
2. adaptability to vegetative reproduction;
3. high seed productivity. One plant can produce from 30,000 to 100,000 seeds in one growing season;
4. the presence of a dormant period for seeds before germination, which most often occurs in a cold, slushy autumn;
5. seed germination is active and at high density, which leaves no chance for other species to survive;
6. the time-drawn-out process of reproduction. Flowering and fruiting of individual plants in the population are distributed in such a way that throughout the season there are flowering specimens and those that have already completed the flowering process;
7. the onset of the reproductive period in hogweed only at 3-5 years of life;
8. ability to delay the flowering phase in the absence of suitable conditions. At the same time, maintain the ability to reproduce for up to 10-12 years.

The plant poses a particular danger to humans during the period of active flowering and fruiting. During this period, the plant sap contains the greatest amount of toxins, which, if they come into contact with the skin, cause serious damage - burns.

The insidiousness of the situation lies in the fact that the very contact of the juice on the body is not felt at all. Once exposed to sunlight, the photosensitive substances furanocoumarins, which are part of the hogweed juice, are activated, and a powerful chemical burn occurs.

Damage to the skin by juice can occur without the initiating effect of ultraviolet radiation. Destruction processes occur at the level of DNA structures, and this indicates a great danger and a high probability of serious consequences of such injuries. Healing from a hogweed burn is a long, painful process, and negative consequences cannot be ruled out.

You should know that in hot, dry weather, pollen and fumes from this plant can cause swelling of the larynx and esophagus. In case of direct contact of the plant juice and the mucous membrane of the eye, a burn and even irreversible destruction of the cornea can occur. There are cases of complete loss of vision.

How to get rid of hogweed

Hogweed owes its wide distribution, first of all, to the huge areas of abandoned land. Lands with improper crop rotation and other violations of agrotechnical measures. This was especially evident after the collapse of the USSR. It was from those times that the hogweed began its victorious invasion.

It is estimated that every year the population of Sosnovsky's hogweed independently increases its growing area by 10-12%

There are several proven ways to get rid of hogweed. But it should be remembered that the biological characteristics of this plant negate one-time measures to exterminate it.

The most effective way to fight is herbicidal. The most effective herbicides, and therefore more in demand, include glyphosate. Treatment of hogweed thickets three times per season is enough to completely destroy it.

But glyphosate-based herbicide, when used uncontrolled and unprofessionally, can cause a number of serious human diseases.

Today it is impossible to do without herbicides in gardening and crop production, but they should be used very thoughtfully and carefully.

A method of struggle that can be called covering. Using a dark, dense plastic film, block the access of light to the young shoots of hogweed. Light insulation lasts throughout the growing season of the plant. It is necessary to carefully monitor the integrity of the coating material.
The method is not as effective as the herbicide method, but less expensive and safer. Recommended for use in small areas and close to the cultivation of plant products for food consumption.

Geotextile method. Geotextile or technical fabric, which is made from strong, durable polymer threads. The fabric is porous enough to allow moisture to penetrate, but is a reliable barrier to weeds from penetrating through it.

In early spring, before emergence, the area affected by the hogweed population is covered with geotextiles, the required volume of soil mixture is poured on top and cultivation begins. The method is reliable. Recommended for non-industrial production volumes.

On the scale of agricultural land, measures to combat hogweed come down to repeated plowing of contaminated areas, plowing, harrowing, disking, competent crop rotation using alternative recultivators.

Mowing adult plants, trimming stems, uprooting hogweed – the methods are not effective, moreover, they are very labor-intensive and dangerous to health. In the event of such events, you must take care of your own safety.

Burns from hogweed - how and what to treat

The main danger of hogweed lies in its accumulation, in its vegetative part, of active substances called furocoumarins. The nature of these substances helps the plant resist fungal and other diseases, initiate the growth of the plant itself, and stimulate seed germination.

Furocoumarins, the sap of the plant, pose a serious danger to humans.
Once on the surface of the skin, the juice containing this substance, under the influence of light, can cause serious burns.

First aid for a hogweed burn:

1. move the victim to deep shade;
2. wash the affected surface with a mild soap solution;
3. bandage the burned area of ​​skin with a thick cloth.

In case of a hogweed burn, after providing first aid, treatment consists of applying ointments, creams, and aerosols to the damaged surface of the skin:

1. ointment "Synthomycin";
2. “Zinc” ointment;
3. gel “Rescuer”;
4. spray "Olazol".
5. Avoid the victim's exposure to the sun for 2-3 days.
6. Categorically do not allow yourself to open the resulting blisters. Carefully lubricate the places where they are opened with a swab moistened with a solution of potassium permanganate or furatsilin.
7. Eliminate any possibility of infection on the wound surface.

At home, compresses are used to treat hogweed burns:

1. strong brewed tea;
2. brewed oak bark. 2 tablespoons of bark per glass of boiling water. Leave for 15 minutes;
3. decoction of burnet roots. 1 tablespoon per glass of boiling water. Leave for 15 minutes.

Every 2 hours, apply gauze moistened with infusion to the affected area of ​​skin for 15-20 minutes.

A powerful giant with large inflorescences and leaves collected in basal rosettes, hogweed often evokes a momentary desire to take an ax and collect a bouquet that will make everyone envy. Well, or at least take a photo hugging a giant.

The uninitiated are in for an unpleasant surprise - painful and long-healing burns from hogweed, after which scars and stains remain. Hogweed juice gets on the skin and reacts with sunlight, causing phytophotodermatitis. And the sunnier the day, the worse the burns.

Symptoms of burns from hogweed

Even minor superficial trauma to the skin from plant poison can cause:

1. dizziness;
2. headache;
3. weakness;
4. nausea;
5. temperature rise.

Damage to more than 80% of the skin surface by hogweed juice often leads to death!

Hogweed poison is most dangerous for children and fair-skinned people. The degree of burns is also influenced by the duration of contact with the plant and exposure to the sun, individual sensitivity and location of the burn. When contacting the plant, areas of delicate, thin, untanned skin will suffer the most.

Hogweed burns are classified as chemical burns. They arise due to the reaction of furocoumarins contained in the plant juice with ultraviolet radiation. Damage can vary: from itching and redness - with minimal contact, to large blisters and poorly healing ulcers - with abundant contact of the active substance on the skin.

What burns from hogweed look like, photo

First aid

The main rule is don’t panic!

1. First of all, wash the affected areas with plenty of water, preferably with soap suds or adding soda.
2. If you don’t have water at hand: cover the affected areas of your body from the sun with clothing (thick fabric), and immediately go home to shaded areas.
3. If the plant juice gets into your eyes, rinse them immediately with running water! The procedure should be performed for at least 15 minutes.
4. If a toxic substance gets into the oral cavity, rinse your mouth for 15-20 minutes, constantly changing the water.

If the victim did not notice the contact with the hogweed (this happens, for example, in the case of children) and the consequences have already appeared:

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1. Treat damaged skin with a solution of any antiseptic that does not contain alcohol.
2. Bandage the damaged surface with a clean, dry bandage.

What is forbidden to do in case of burns?

It is worth remembering a number of actions that are prohibited in case of phytoburns caused by contact with hogweed juice and leaves:

1. Do not treat the burned surface with alcohol or alcohol-containing solutions under any circumstances: this will quickly dry out the already injured skin.
2. Do not lubricate burns with petroleum jelly or other fats: this leads to clogging and lack of oxygen in the damaged areas of the skin.
3. Do not go out into the sun, especially do not sunbathe, during the entire period of treatment, and especially in the first 2-3 days.
4. Do not open the resulting blisters: this not only risks introducing infection into open wounds, but also increases the duration of wound healing.

Treatment of burns from hogweed