I Was Blinded By Brug In The Eye (kinda long)

15 years ago

I was trimming the leaves off my brugs last Wed & Thur (15 & 16th) before the first frost here. The plan was to dig them & put them inside on Friday when my DH got home. I started carrying in the smaller plants in pots for under lights then too & all the other plants that had to come in. I trimmed all of the ones in the front yard Wed & moved on to the back Thur. I was probably about 80% finished with 100 seedlings when in the middle of all my chopping & hurrying I got a tiny piece of brug in my eye. I wiped it away & kept going. I wear glasses & I have been doing these things for years now with no problems. It was a bright sunny day, nice & warm & perfect weather to be outside all day. Suddenly I noticed that everything was getting VERY blurry. I wiped my eye again a couple times, just the corner & not putting my fingers in my eyes (or so I thought) thinking it was dust or something. I tried to finish with that eye closed & I didn't want to go inside because I was almost done. I was out there about another 30 minutes when I did it again & got sprayed with brug juice in my good eye. This was my first year with seedlings & maybe they are just more juicy than cuttings or older plants or it could be because I was trying to hurry so much (more likely). I went in, washed my face & hands & looked at my eye. My right pupil was almost the size of the colored part & the left one was huge but not as big as the first one. I thought oh great but figured it wasn't too bad since I read about Victorian ladies doing it (on purpose!!). By that time, my eyes were getting very sensitive to the light but not red or burning. I looked like I had some kind of brain damage. I couldn't see to look it up on the computer (too bright) & I couldn't see to read or watch TV so I thought I'd take a nap & let them go down. 2 hours later, I got up & looked - uh oh, no change. I called Poison Control (try dialing blind) & they said it was not dangerous & would probably be back to normal in 6 to 8 hours (maybe if you have one drop in your eye, I had juice on my hands from 100 of those puppies). I had all the curtains pulled closed & the lights off & went back to bed. It's not bed time so I keep waking up & checking & there is no change. I'm beginning to get upset by then because I have things to do & I can't see to do them. I finally gave up & went to bed for the night. When Bob came home Friday am, we got started on the plants. I couldn't see at all outside in the light (& it was cloudy that day) so we went to Walmart, talked to the optometrist (too bad I didn't have an eye exam appointment) & bought a pair of those big wrap around glasses like people with cataract surgery wear. They fit over my glasses so I could see (I have 20/240 vision). My eyes were not back to normal size until very late Sunday night & my eyes were sensitive to the light for a couple more days after that so I couldn't see to read or get on the computer for over a week. No one even missed me!

We did finish the plants but all we did was dig them & put them in pots or plastic bags with the dirt that hung on. Now I have to go back & add potting soil to all of them & I still haven't done that. I still have cuttings for trades to do so I am even more behind.

The moral of this story is if you are going to trim 150 brugs, wear wrap around glasses, do not rush the job & DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYES until you have washed your hands.

Linda

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Comments (24)

knotz
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Oh Linda...That happened to me last year...YUCK!!!..That was the weirdest thing to happen...It scared me, but was all better about 24 hrs later.

You must be very very careful.

knotz
luvmy3afhounds
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wow Linda!!! That must have been awful! Here you are working so hard and then to have that happen. I am glad you are okay. Thank you for the warning. I am always careful with my huge daturas when I cut them back. I will keep your warning in mind when my brugs hopefully get big next year.
Take care,
Joyce
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Sorry yall, I wasn't serious. I reckon I shoulda threw a disclaimer out there as well. If I were going to taste the nectar, Chris's story would not have been the thing that would have given me the confidence to do it. There's plenty of other sweet stuff out there that I know wont kill me :) I doubt it would hurt but not worth that infinitesimal risk to me. I felt like a dumb ass for allowing my mouth to hang open while I was picking off leaves and had a drop of sap fly in my mouth inadvertantly. I've got my brug kinda out of sight but, it is still accessible. I've been thinking about putting a skull n cross bones on the ground next to mine to serve as a warning in addition to asthetic purposes, haha Haha Karyn, I think you are the only one who has mentioned copious amounts of nectar. I said considerable, Chris said a drop and a trail. All of which are pretty subjective terms. As far as the flowers being pendulous, stick a straw in your drink, put your finger over the hole up top and pull the straw out. If that were nectar, would you consider that to be copious amounts? Judging by the size of the void where nectar would be stored, I'm thinking that the flowers could potentially hold (very rough guesstimate) somewhere around .5 cc with the help of a little surface tension. Myself, I have never seen it pour out either. I'm talking about maybe 10 little tiny droplets on each pistol after I pull the flower off(usually in evening so it aint dew). Definitely enough to get a taste though. I'm guessing the quantity that Chris saw is no more than what the rest of us typically see. Maybe by trail what he was describing was several small droplets. Hope that helps. Not trying to be contradictory just trying to help put things into perspective. Chris, thanks for the heads up on the drinks. Where did you try the fruit at? If I could get some fruit for my dad he would be very happy. He loves langsat. I aint seen him get so excited as when he was describing that thing to me this summer. He's from the PI. After he told me about it I did some research and IIRC the longan was very similar but more prevelant in Thailand, I think. Thanks Brandon Here is a link that might be useful: If this don't deter the youngins I dont know what will
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Thanks to all who responded. Yes, my eye began slowly working it's way back to normal. After the first day, it had gone down to about half the size it was the night before, and was starting to show some response to light. By the second day, I was able to focus my eye again, and by the third, it seemed normal, if not still slightly sensitive to light. Those first 2 days I had to wear sunglasses even in the house because even the sunlight coming in the windows was painful. Definate lesson learned here, I think when working with these plants from now on, I will wear gardening gloves, as a precaution that I wont absently wipe or scratch my eyes, and be sure to wash thoughoughly upon coming back inside. Very scary indeed when you make a living as a freelance photographer and only have one good eye. (I was born with an abnormality of my left eye, looks perfectly normal but is basically just window dressing, can't do more than distinguish color and light with it) I couldn't imagine giving up our brugs, our yard is always vibrant with the colors of them, and on nights like last night, with literally thousands of open blooms, you realise why you do all that feeding and watering. We had a candlelight dinner and a movie on our lanai literally floating on clouds of the most wonderful perfume. Earlier in the evening just after dusk we were returning home with the windows open in the car and could literally smell our place before we arrived in front of the house. Appearantly the weather has just been on the perfect side for them this winter, as the trees are just bending under the weight of as many blossoms as they can possibly hold, with flushes coming one after the other. I haven't slowed my feeding scheduel yet, as it's been pretty much in the lower 80's still all the time, and have had to do quite a bit of pruning, both of side shoots and branches that are getting on the roof and in the gutters. So I should have plenty of cuttings if anybody wants them who didn't get some of the plants I had earlier, they went amazingley fast. Dave
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I move the potted ones inside, Jim (don't have as many of these as I once did). These are inground, and I will cut them back in the next few days and hopefully, find homes for the cuttings. I did not cut these when I had my annual brug cutting event on the 19th as I REALLY wanted to enjoy the blooms a little longer. I had so few this summer and they are doing great just in time to freeze...(isn't that how it often happens?") !!!!!
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karyn1
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Poison Control was wrong to tell you that your pupil would be back to normal in 6-8 hours. It's more like 24+. I'm glad you're ok. I was cutting hoyas last week and got that sap in my mouth. Weird, very weird. I kept trying to spit it out and rinsed with a ton of water but one side of my mouth was completely numb and I had a metallic taste in it for several hours. I wonder if that's what an animal experiences when they bite into a Monarch caterpillar (hoyas and milkweeds are in the same family)?
technodweeb
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Linda:

That happened to me yesterday also. Thes "juicy" fat green stalks while I was stripping leaves.

Sprayed diagonally across my left eye. Immediately closed my eye, and wiped with my "under" t shirt that was under my sweatshirt.

Dialated just a tiny bit (or it was my imagination) but felt blurry for a couple of hours. Scared me a little, but I had to keep going. I put my wrap around sun glasses on. (Tight fitting glasses)

I didn't panic because of the good folks here who told me that it happens, don't panic, but be careful.

(Didn't stop my blue stream of filthy obscenities though)

I'm sorry you had such a rough one with yours. My eye seems fine this morning.

But yes, you are right. They are very juicy.

My glasses were a mess when I took them off. (I have another 78 to go today.)
eloise_ca
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Gosh Linda, I am so sorry that happened. I would have been scared myself! Although it's not a good thing that happened to any of you, we thank you for sharing your experience with us. We know we should take care in handling brugs, but we forget. Thanks for the warning.
jroot
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
It happened to me last year also. Initially I thought I was drunk, but then remembered that coffee doesn't contain alcohol. LOL

I lost my sight of one eye for a full day. All the girls thought I was winking at them, because I kept closing the affected eye, so I could see better with the good one. LOL
technodweeb
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The only reason I didn't freak was because the good people here had warned me about it.

When it sprayed, my heart stopped, and I gasped. Thought "oh for cryin' in my christmas beer" (Yea right, you guys all know what came flying out of my mouth, at a very loud volume by the way)

I was scared. (Didn't get nailed as hard as Linda though)

But, make no mistake, I was frightened.

It's just, when you get in a place where you have SO many to do, and you are chopping, stripping, tossing, chop, strip, toss. . . .you forget.

You don't notice the juicy, the sprays, and then BOOM you get sprayed right across the face.

It is scarey. I'm so glad you are ok now Linda.

I'm going to START the day wearing my sunglasses when I head out to chop.
kasha77
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Linda-
I am SO sorry that you went through that! That's pretty scary! Now I will be extra careful when working around Brugs. Sorry if we didn't seem to notice that you weren't on here- I'm sure everybody is so very busy durinig this time of year when we are all scrambling to get our brugs indoors & packaged for shipping out to others! Thank God you recovered- I can't imagine being in that condition- it must have been so frustrating! Welcome back!
~hugs~
kasha77
ladylotus
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Linda,

I'm so glad you posted this. I've not heard of it before and would have FREAKED out if it happened to me. I'm so glad you are alright and your eyesight is back to normal. Scarey!

I'm so sorry you feel you were not missed. I'm new to the Brugs forum and don't know many of you yet. :) If you go missing for awhile now...I will take notice.

Dweeb...you are a hoot. I have an iris called Cussin' a Blue Streak. ha ha.... I'll try to move my photos to photobucket today and post a picture of it.

~Tj~
karmahappytoes
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Okay, it's time to start screaming here. Folks I'm also betting that no one cleans their cutters between each plant too? Also the first thing is to stop and clean whatever you get brug juices on, be it eyes or cuts or whatever. It was Prof Sanders little trip to the hospital that he share with several of us at a group many moons ago that was a good lesson! Do not do Brugmansia or those cousins in a hurry!! It takes us here almost two weeks to get them all taken care of so if you are trying to do so in a couple days?? Something like this can last over a week, just depends on what you get where. My eye Dr. and other Dr. always questions me when I go in due to they knows what I grow. The slicing of the hand one year while doing the Brugs, I had them note my chart to a Brug Warning! It wasn't a pretty picture and I did all the right things before going in to have it looked at.
neonposey
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Oh my gosh! I'm so glad you're ok. I know you had to be very scared. I've been having some fairly serious issues with my eyes and know how frightening it is. Wonder if my brugs are causing some of my issues? Hmmmm... its a thought. It would be the pits to find out they were the cause of my problems.

When folks are missing for a day or 2 or don't post, I don't worry too much. I often lurk and dont post and figure others do the same at times. I'm really glad you're ok now and back.
chazparas
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi all,
Also, be sure to wear gloves when cutting! Inevitably sap will get onto your skin. Think motion sickness patches..it is absorbed through the skin also. A couple of years ago I had a reaction to pruning seedpods off Dats, very similar optical reaction along with a slight tingling of the hands. Beautiful huge pupils although not how I'd have chosen to get them. Lasted for hours as well, and sensitive to light.
Careful pruning and safe gardening wishes to all!
Chaz
flwrs4ever
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Linda, I am soo sorry to hear about what you went thru, and I am so glad to hear you are doing better ! Also thanks for sharing your story, as I didnt know this could happen !! I knew to be careful but now I will be even more so !

i bet you are glad to have them all put away for the winter ! What a job !

Kym
pagrdnr
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm glad your eye is OK. That would be scary. I freaked out when a little juice got in my eye when I was plucking leaves off, I ran in the house and flushed with water and nothing bad happened. BTW I do clean my cutters between brugs, I carry a cup of oht bleach water then wipe off then run a lighter along the blade (I've been using scissors, need to get some real pruners for next year, LOL).
Shawn
hong2007
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
That is scary! sorry for what happended Linda. Thanks goodness you are ok, maybe next time when you have to cut down brugs remember to put on a pair of eyes gogles to protect your eyes.
chazparas
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Linda,
I did mean to include how sorry I am that you went through that in my post. Glad it's past and you're feeling better.
Chaz
napdognewfie
Original Author
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks everyone. I was getting upset when I still couldn't stand light a couple days later & was afraid I fried my retinas. DH has welded a couple times without his helment & he was far more miserable than I was. I looked it up on the computer after I could see again & was reassured because apparently this happens to a good many people. I don't remember seeing anything about it actually happening before this though. I was always very careful about not getting it near my mouth & would come inside to wash my face every time I got it on me. It didn't bother my skin.

Karma, I am shamed,I normally sterilize my cutters in between plants but I was in a big hurry & these were the seedling beds where they were all stuffed in together. Live & learn. We've had frosts & two freezes so far & it's calling for snow showers tonight & tomorrow.

Chaz, Welcome. My best friend lives on Mendum street in Haverhill. Are you anywhere near her? She's not into plants but it would be great if she could come & smell yours next year. All I can do is send her pictures. LOL

Linda
jumpin4joy
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Glad this was posted because I dont take any preventive measures. May I ask What happens if you get it in a cut? Man I have done a BUNCH of cuttings ive gotta post some pictures. Sorry you didnt thought you werent missed. But I think it normal to go missing before frost hit. LOL Im glad your feeling better. Brandy
gardenpaw
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wow Linda, That is scary!
Im glad you are feeling better now, thank you for posting
and warning everyone what can happen.
Take good care,

Karen
fool4flowers
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sorry you got squirted Linda. I'm sure it was scarry. I have been worried about Lucy since she is having the one pupil dilated for a while now and I'm gonna have to kick her butt if she doesn't go to the doctor. I'm glad it got better. We all just assumed you were busy getting ready for winter. I need to be more careful as well. I cut one of my tall ones into tree form the other day with no gloves on and I usually just let all the leaves fall and pick them up and throw them away all at once but I was holding them in my hand until I got a fist full and then passing them to John to throw away since I was in the back of the flower bed and the puppy was at my feet and they were more juicy than normal and my hands got all red and swollen and burned until the next morning. Gotta wear gloves and glasses next time.
chazparas
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Linda, thanks for the welcome. I post here once in a very rare while, usually just lurk and glean as much info from you all as I can.
Not sure where Mendum St is but your friend is welcome here anytime to smell the brugs! or tour the garden. It's kind of in the dumps right now with fall hitting full force but it'll be beautiful in the spring again. If you ever make a trip up to visit her, be sure to stop by here too!
Chaz
collielover
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Linda, you are soooo funny with words I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt. A couple of years ago I did my fall cutting without gloves and had chest pains for couple of hours!
sweetie_2009
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Linda, that was such a sad story.
Next time you wear protective
eyewear so it wouldn't happen again.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chanel Sunglasses
tommysmommy
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Good cautionary tale. I'm sorry it happened all of you though. What gives me the shivers is that for 7 months of the year these plants are living in the house with me and I have leaf drop and sap spots from the flowers on my wooden floor. I'll have to remember all these stories.

I Was Blinded By Brug In The Eye (kinda long)

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I Was Blinded By Brug In The Eye (kinda long)

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