Teenager gets giant blister and faints after touching poisonous plant

A 16-year-old Scottish teenager has developed an orange-sized blister on his hand after touching 'Britain's most dangerous plant'.

Ross McPherson had contact with poisonous giant hogweed while riding a bike in his town, Dunbar, which is in Scotland.

He says that a few hours after touching the plant, he noticed that the member began to turn red and, soon after, it was filled with bubbles – one of them grew until it was gigantic. They caused the young man a lot of pain, which led him to need hospital treatment.

The bubbles had to be removed without anesthesia, as reported by the British website Daily Mail. The pain was such that, according to the tabloid, the young man fainted. Learn more about the case!

Teenager touched a poisonous plant for a few seconds

In an interview, Ross said he must have touched the poisonous plant for just a few seconds. "I was riding my bike and I must have passed her," he told the Mail.

“When I noticed it for the first time, my hand was red and slightly sore, but I didn't know what it was”, he added, noting that he felt that the member started to get warmer.

Soon after, blisters began to appear, first small and then larger. "I couldn't get clothes under the wounds, and because [the blisters] were over my joint, I couldn't use my left hand," the teenager recalled.

He compared the blisters to a "giant balloon" and revealed that he had smaller rashes on his knuckles, further limiting his movements.

WARNING: The image below, which features an actual photograph of Ross McPherson's hand, may be disturbing to some people.

Second and third degree burners

The first doctor who examined Ross diagnosed him with contact dermatitis. However, after going to another hospital, it was found that, in addition, he had burns second and third grade. “It was absolute hell. It hurt a lot, ”he commented.

He needed to drain the blisters, a relatively simple process: just cut it and drain the fluid. According to the teenager, the liquid was similar to jelly. Afterwards, health workers cut away the dead skin.

As they needed to know if the nerves had been damaged, the procedure had to be done without anesthesia.

Ross's hand is on the mend. According to doctors, the member will remain sensitive for many years and there is no prediction of when it will return to normal.

“They said to put on SPF 50 sunscreen for the next two years or a glove in the winter, if possible”, said the teenager.

Graduated in Social Communication at the Federal University of Goiás. Passionate about digital media, pop culture, technology, politics and psychoanalysis.