Stinging Thorns?

[howellhandmade]

Two days ago I spent the day in the woods skidding logs, and I'm trying to figure out what bit me to pieces. I woke up the next day with about a dozen welts/hives about the size of my palm, all between my waist and knees, with a white bite in the center like a mosquito bite, and a small blister in the middle of that, again like a mosquito bite. I would have thought that they were just really bad mosquito bites except that they're all on skin covered by jeans, not on my exposed arms or neck. Not ticks, I showered right after and with that many bites I'd have seen at least one. I was on the lookout for ticks, too after the thread here. Not spiders, unless they can bite through jeans. Not chiggers, the bites would be even worse and I don't know if we even have them this far north. Haven't seen any skeeters yet, and to have that many bites I'd have seen them in the air or heard them whining. Almost anything else I can think of -- wasps, centipedes -- would have hurt like hell, or I would have at least felt it crawling around in my pants. The only thing I can remember was some sort of brambles. I thought they were just locust, except there weren't any locust trees. Thin branches with long, thin stickers. I ran into them a couple of times with my legs and got stuck a bit, but was busy and didn't think any more about it. Itches like crazy, yesterday I wanted to break stuff but it's a little better today, no fever or anything. Is there such a thing as a stinging thorn in PA?

Jack

 

[unclemoustache]

Sounds like chiggers to me.

 

[dingeryote]

Sounds like chiggers to me.

Too chilly for 'em still, and Pennsy is a bit north of thier normal range IIRC.

Some folks are somewhat allergic to certain species of briars, and react a lot more than the rest, and might explain it.

Thin branch with long thorns...hmmm

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[WetBehindtheEar]

Not to sound too combative but...

I don't think Pennsylvania is too far north for chiggers... but usually chiggers also burrow in at points of elastic contact. Underwear line, sock line, etc.

We get them in grassy prairies all the time in WI.

Is it possible you got some poison ivy going? Maybe when you took your pants off?

Just thinking out loud here.

Heal up!

 

[Mike PA]

I doubt that it is chiggers/ ticks, or any other bug at this time of year. While it has been warm, it has not been warm enough long enough for them. Also not PI, PO, or sumac. Sounds more like an allergic reaction or infection from the thorns or another plant next to them. wish I had a better answer for you.

 

[TreePointer]

I doubt that it is chiggers/ ticks, or any other bug at this time of year. While it has been warm, it has not been warm enough long enough for them. Also not PI, PO, or sumac. Sounds more like an allergic reaction or infection from the thorns or another plant next to them. wish I had a better answer for you.

That's what I was thinking, too.

 

[howellhandmade]

Thanks for the confirmation on the bugs, guys. If it was poison ivy I'd be knocking back cortisone tablets like tic tacs. I'll keep a better eye out next time.

Jack

 

[dingeryote]

Try Benedryl if you can. When I get to ripping blackberry and green briar out and get tore up pretty bad, it seems to take the burn and itch outta the scratches.

Any chance you can get a pic of the offending thorns?

If it's what I'm thinking it is, the thorns are widely spaced on the vine/branch and have the profile of a Canvass needle and about 3/8-1/2" long?

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[peterc38]

Did you sit on any dirty toilets?

Could be saber-toothed crotch crickets?

 

[howellhandmade]

Try Benedryl if you can. When I get to ripping blackberry and green briar out and get tore up pretty bad, it seems to take the burn and itch outta the scratches.

Any chance you can get a pic of the offending thorns?

If it's what I'm thinking it is, the thorns are widely spaced on the vine/branch and have the profile of a Canvass needle and about 3/8-1/2" long?

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

I'll try, will be out there tomorrow, will see if I can find them again without the Braille method, which is how I found them the first time. Yes, widely spaced and needle-shaped, but more like an inch long. Been taking Benadryl. It's not a medical emergency, not half as bad as PI, just trying to figure out what happened so it's not a regular thing.

Jack

 

[Jon E]

Could be hawthorn. We have them around here (mistakenly call them "thornapples") but they are a shrubby tree, have a smooth tan-grey bark when young, and have vicious 1-2" long needle-like thorns all over them that cause a lot of pain if you're not careful... The tips of the thorns can break off in the skin and cause inflammation. They like sun and tend to grow in cleared areas like power line rights-of-way.

There's also buckthorn, which is a dark reddish-brown scaly bark shrub-tree with dark brown to black thorns.

Does not sound like locust, with needle-like thorns.

 

[Caz]

Is it possible you got some poison ivy going? Maybe when you took your pants off?

Just thinking out loud here.

Heal up!

Yeah, next time try skiddin yer log with yer pants on.

 

[adamc]

Jack,

I live near Pittsburgh and have had a reaction similar to the one you describe when exposed to stinging nettle:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle

In my case, the reaction occurs within minutes of exposure to bare skin and only lasts a few hours. The initial reaction causes small white spots that raise like a mosquito bites and a firey stinging-burning sensation. Later, the burning subsides to a manageable itch and the spots look more like welts.

I have never had a reaction to stinging nettle through clothing, nor have I had it last as long as yours. That said, it seems like either the plant or peoples reaction to it are variable.

Hope this helps.

Adam

 

[i'mstihlaguy]

http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/Research/Dermatitis/EdMat/PhytoSlides/

Website is for Washington state but most of the plants are common across the U.S. Some of the slides show what the skin looks like after contact.

 

[bsearcey]

I don't know. From the description it sounds an awful lot like chiggers especially with the white center, although it does seem a bit early for them especially further up north and I've never had a reaction with palm size wetls from chiggers. It also sounds like fire ants, but it can't be them and you would have known them immediatly. Most plants that truly sting you like stinging nettle are also an immediate response, not something that shows up the next day. None of the other poisonous (allergic reaction) plants really have the symptoms/appearance like the PO described. My money would be on a fluke occurence of chiggers and the PO is just highly sensitive. He's also very allergic to chiggers too.

 

[crowbuster]

Sounds like our hedge tree suckers, they sprout up quickly especially at the stump of a cut hedge. They are spindly and have long thorns, every time I get stuck with one it gets infected looking and itches. Not sure if you have hedge or not but you would have known if it bit ya.

C.B.

 

[tnxm]

I feel for ya man sounds like i got into something you did last year, after a long day of cutting i came home and looked like a cherry. Wasn't poison ivy, didnt get bite with anything, and was covered head to toe. I do remember some pointy thorns in the area now that you mention it. Thankfully it only lasted about 2 hours, but its happen more then once in different places. I live in Pa 2 bout 2 hours from ya so could be

Entire body was like that, and the doctor said it wasn't posin ivy or oak

 

[logdog]

Mowed some nettle down the other day and ended up with one hell of a rash on my hands and thighs. Had the white raised spots similar to a bite also. Almost as bad as poison Ivy.

 

[crowbuster]

How is it when you are out at nite, say, coon huntin you end up in a patch of nettles and didn't get stung once gettin there but get nailed every step of the way on the way out once you realize where you are, amazing, I hate it.

C.B.

 

[cableguy256]

Did you sit on any dirty toilets?

Could be saber-toothed crotch crickets?

That is friggin funny right there! almost woke up the wife laughing at that one... course I'm also running on about 2hrs sleep for the last two days soo...