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High Pain

Almost every year, despite my best efforts I end up having a run-in with poison-ivy and its hardly fun. One of the worse years, I had a pretty severe rash on my right wrist and had to show up to work properly bandaged so I would not freak anyone out. This was in the winding days of the pandemic and people were very wary of anything that looked contagious and this thing was not pretty. Reading about the most pain inflicting plant in the world makes my poison-ivy issues seem like child's play

The hairs of the gympie-gympie cause immediate pain. The first sensation has been described as feeling like 30 wasp stings. After that, one’s lymph nodes will begin to swell, which creates a sensation of immense pressure. Then, the pain only intensifies until it peaks around 30 minutes later.

Unfortunately, the hairs don’t have to come into contact with your skin for the plant to inflict damage. Just being near the plant for too long will begin to wreak havoc on the respiratory system. Overexposure has caused nosebleeds, respiratory damage, and intense sneezing. This is most likely due to the airborne hairs that the gympie-gympie sheds.

There is no known antidote to the torturous stinging hairy leaf.

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