A woman’s face swelled up to twice its size after accidentally brushing against a toxic plant while walking her dogs. Christina Sabine, 26, says she feels like she’s been ‘the victim of an acid attack’.
Discover our latest podcast
Toxic Plant
Sabine, who was out walking her two dogs, Mocha and Latte, said she woke up to find her skin covered in blisters and was unable to walk.
She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors told her she must have come into contact with a toxic giant hogweed. The artist from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, said:
I woke up and saw myself in the mirror. My face had swollen and all my skin had blistered, and I looked like I was the victim of an acid attack. My whole body was in too much pain to move — I even questioned calling 999 because I thought it might be life-threatening.
It’s been over three months since the incident, but Christina says she is still in so much pain and is hardly able to walk or use her hands.
Beware!
Initially when doctors told her what the cause of the pain could be, she had no idea what they were going on about.
According to Christina, she did a quick research and realized she had indeed walked past these plants on many occasions while walking her dog but was unaware they were poisonous.
I’m in pain every day and I can’t use my hand properly because it’s still too painful. I want to make people aware because it can be so dangerous — and it could have been so much worse if it had been a child instead of me.
Christina, who is unable to work as an artist now due to the pain in her hands, has filed a complaint with Stratford District Council.
The hogweed plant is a regular-looking plant with a long green stalk and lots of tiny white flowers at the top.
