Saturday, October 30, 2010

Dangerous Plants

Yesterday morning, when I woke up, I could not see anything clearly with my right eye. Everything was in a haze, I could not even see the wall clock with my right eye, but I could see everything clearly with my left eye. When the situation did not improve even after washing my eyes repeatedly, I became panicky.I took an appointment with my Ophtholmologist and met her at 10.30 a.m.

She did lots of tests and peered into my eyes with her instruments. Fortunately for me, her friend, a cornea specialist was also present there, who too peered into my eyes. He asked me whether I did a lot of gardening. I said yes, and he told me that there were multiple abrasions on my right cornea, caused by plant juices. He prescribed some steroid eye drops
which I have to continue using for 3 weeks. I have been thinking about the poisonous plants I handle daily, and here are some. The lantana in the topmost picture with its cheerful flowers, is a poisonous plant. All parts of the Nerium Oleander whose flowers I gather every day, are very poisonous. The Brugmansia plant is very poisonous, but its flowers are very beautiful.
I

The plant of the tomato, which I pulled out the day before , is also poisonous. I have a sneaking suspicion that the plant juices of the tomato have caused the injury to my eye.
There are many other mild and strong toxic plants in my garden, which I handle every day.I have learnt one important thing from this experience: If some plant juice gets into your eyes, you must immediately wash your eyes with water. That way, the risk of injuring your eyes are minimised.
My right eye has improved a bit, and today, I can see the wall clock, and also tell the time using my right eye.



13 comments:

  1. Beautiful plants with nice flowers.. i liked it.
    the only thing a little care :)

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  2. Great images, very simple and effective, ...interesting article.

    I wish you all the best!

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  3. Ooh, that's scary. I will wear some protective glasses henceforth. Thanks for the info.

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  4. The saps of some of these beauty are poisonous, please handle them with care.

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  5. I am glad they nailed it for you. Beautiful flowers sure do have another side to them!

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  6. I'm convinced that poinsettia sap damaged the lining inside one of my eyes last year. I am always very cautious around brugmansia plants but sometimes it's easy to forget and just rub the eye. Glad your sight is improving by the day.

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  7. Dear friends, thanks for your concern. My sight has improved almost to 90% now. I am now more careful while handling the toxic plants.

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  8. I'm glad to read that your eye has almost fully recovered. We sometimes forget that even the prettiest of plants have their own defense mechanisms. Be more cautious next time, please.

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  9. Hoep your eyes will recover soon! Next time we have to be careful while handling plants!

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  10. Ooh. Better be careful. I did not know they harm even without consumption!

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  11. Thank you for an interesting and informative post. Glad you are better, and hope all fine by now.

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  12. Thanks for the info. I don't think we think about that while out gardening.

    Cher
    Goldenray Yorkies

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    Thanks

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