Insanely itchy grass

[Gecko123]

If I walk through ankle high or long grass in my backyard without long pants on, I often get an itchiness on my lower legs which is incredibly hard to resist scratching. About five or six years ago, I managed to give myself an infection from uncontrolled scratching (I thought it was just dry skin) and had to be put on intravenous antibiotics. Needless to say, I try to wear long pants whenever I work in the garden, but recently I have experienced the same problem on my hands while weeding without gloves.

 

My question is: Does anybody know the name or have a picture of a grass which causes these symptoms? The grass doesn't cause a rash or skin blotches. It feels like tiny nettles invisible to the naked eye are what's causing the problem. I've never been able to pin down exactly which grass is the culprit. Any ideas? Thanks.

[CharlieH]

Any farmers around you spraying chemicals ?? 

 

Just a thought.

[Speedo1968]

Are you sure the itchiness is from grass ?

There are many kinds of grasses especially in fallow or grazed ( cattle / buffalo ) land ( hopefully not in your garden ! ).    Seeds from grasses and also parts of flowering plants could be a cause.

Many of these grasses have small fine seeds, these can cause itching to the feet where seeds have dropped to the ground also where the seed brushes the leg or hand.

Some seeds as you will no doubt know have pin prick ends and can embed themselves in clothing especially trousers, shorts and shirt sleeves.   If not removed before laundering the seeds can move in to other clothes.

As the land dries out there could be numerous other materials from other plants, insects etc that you could be allergic to.   As an example lemongrass can cause allergic contact dermatitis.

Take note of the plants that you come in to contact with when walking, some may give almost instantaneous itching.

Some of the caterpillars can cause an allergic response if they are touched, e.g. those with hair and the green ones.

There are of course mites, chiggers and ticks etc.

Poison ivy is another possibility.

If you only get these symptoms this time of year then try to recognize certain things that you only see now.

In general, where I live, for whatever reason, weeds have become much more prominent over the past few years.

 

Wear appropriate clothing, be aware of your surroundings, try not to scratch, Aloe Vera may help, spray the itching area with water.    Although you had a problem 6 years ago did the doctor tell you what it was caused by e.g. chiggers / seeds / contact dermatitis ?   

 

 

[Kurtf]

I America there is a product known as BENEDRYL. It comes as a pill (helps immensely for sleeplessness) It also comes as a cream and a spray and a gel. I find the spray to be the most effective. It can stop itching instantaneously. I am someone with hyper sensitive skin. For example I can't wear woolen clothes. So as you might imagine, whenever anyone comes visiting me here from America i often ask them to bring me a bottle or two of Benedryl spray. Available at Wal-Mart and most pharmacies.

[ronaldo0]

Is the grass the type that after it grows a bit it has the small leaves that if you touch them they close in it ?

One of my dogs has extremely itchy feet but he has very short hair on his feet compared to the other dogs and when he walks on the grass you would think its stinging his feet the way he walks.

[tweedledee2]

1 hour ago, Kurtf said:

I America there is a product known as BENEDRYL. It comes as a pill (helps immensely for sleeplessness) It also comes as a cream and a spray and a gel. I find the spray to be the most effective. It can stop itching instantaneously. I am someone with hyper sensitive skin. For example I can't wear woolen clothes. So as you might imagine, whenever anyone comes visiting me here from America i often ask them to bring me a bottle or two of Benedryl spray. Available at Wal-Mart and most pharmacies.

  There is nothing special about Benadryl except its high price as its main ingredient is Diphenhydramine HCI, which is also an ingredient in sleep-aids, motion sickness pills, cold and sinus medications. Pills, creams and lotions containing this compound are readily available in Thailand at low cost. Pills and capsules are generally 25mg each and the creams, sprays and lotion usually contain a 2% concentration. 

[DiDiChok]

Like Gecko123, I couldn't identify the source of the skin irritants, but I did find something that stopped the problems of eczema, rashes and so on happening.  What I now do is always to apply "barrier cream" to exposed skin while working in the garden, on machinery and when using liquid products of any kind.  Besides stopping oily substances being absorbed It also seems to reduce residues sticking to your skin from items being handled.  There are quite a few different kinds of this cream which is usually available in DIY and hardware type shops, and so you will need to choose the right one for you.  I have not experienced any problems since I started using the cream and I find that it is much easier to get clean when I have finished handling items.  Another benefit seems to be a major reduction in the roughness of the skin on my hands as the cream is moisturising.  The tubs and spray barrier cream are quite cheap and seem to last a long time.  The cream seems to disappear after being applied and doesn't wear off for quite a while, a bit like sun cream does but without the stickiness.  You should try it and then you'll hardly have any worry about what you're touching.

Edited October 8, 2018 by DiDiChok
Spelling

[tifino]

in that initia episode, it sounded more serious... was it a Streptococcal  B infection maybe?

 

you might be picking up the bug out of the soil, especially as gardening without gloves

It has ascending levels of severerity;

firstly the skin rash/reddening swelling

then more serious when it gets into the blood stream,

and then more worse when it advances to the organs

 

been there...

... and those intravenous antibiotics takes weeks of fun out of one's life

[Gecko123]

On 10/7/2018 at 8:55 AM, CharlieH said:

Any farmers around you spraying chemicals ?? 

 

Just a thought.

Charlie: Now that you mention it, the irritation on my hands might have been a combination of factors including a brief exposure to fertilizer, ant bites, Vixol with the weeding being the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. But the itching on the legs is definitely not chemical related, and I'm next to 100% certain it's not from insects either.

[Gecko123]

1 hour ago, DiDiChok said:

Like Gecko123, I couldn't identify the source of the skin irritants, but I did find something that stopped the problems of eczema, rashes and so on happening.  What I now do is always to apply "barrier cream" to exposed skin while working in the garden, on machinery and when using liquid products of any kind.  Besides stopping oily substances being absorbed It also seems to reduce residues sticking to your skin from items being handled.  There are quite a few different kinds of this cream which is usually available in DIY and hardware type shops, and so you will need to choose the right one for you.  I have not experienced any problems since I started using the cream and I find that it is much easier to get clean when I have finished handling items.  Another benefit seems to be a major reduction in the roughness of the skin on my hands as the cream is moisturising.  The tubs and spray barrier cream are quite cheap and seem to last a long time.  The cream seems to disappear after being applied and doesn't wear off for quite a while, a bit like sun cream does but without the stickiness.  You should try it and then you'll hardly have any worry about what you're touching.

Is that barrier cream something that's sold in Thailand? Am very interested in this. Do you have a Thai brand name or translation for "barrier cream." I'm worried the gals in Watson's are going to think I'm looking for KY jelly.

[Gecko123]

1 hour ago, tifino said:

in that initia episode, it sounded more serious... was it a Streptococcal  B infection maybe?

 

you might be picking up the bug out of the soil, especially as gardening without gloves

It has ascending levels of severerity;

firstly the skin rash/reddening swelling

then more serious when it gets into the blood stream,

and then more worse when it advances to the organs

 

been there...

... and those intravenous antibiotics takes weeks of fun out of one's life

The doctor never gave me a name for the infection and they didn't do a culture, but there was definitely swelling and redness, and they told me the infection had gone into the underlying skin/muscle. Because I had to keep going back every day for a couple of weeks they set up a catheter on the back of my hand to make it easier to do the antibiotic drip. Everyone who saw it asked me if I was dying or had AIDS. Not fun.

[DiDiChok]

4 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

Is that barrier cream something that's sold in Thailand? Am very interested in this. Do you have a Thai brand name or translation for "barrier cream." I'm worried the gals in Watson's are going to think I'm looking for KY jelly.

Go to https://www.lazada.co.th/

Enter the search term "Barrier cream"

Choose from the 106 products currently available to suit your needs.

In the UK I use one from Rozalex called Dri-Guard which is more of an industrial one, suited to motor mechanics.  £7.25 for 450 ml.  I suspect that some of the cosmetic ones wouldn't be so good but you'd have to read their leaflets to find out.

Use of this stuff is really very common knowledge to engineers.

[DiDiChok]

Forgot to attach the photo!

[Speedo1968]

Ants especially the very small ones in fields etc can cause almost instant itching.  The so called 'fire' ant can give intense burning and later itching.

If you have dogs or livestock around the house / yard these too can pass on skin problems.

Eight months ago I had a friendly dog scratch on one foot that did not even break the skin or bleed, I failed to clean or treat it, I suffered acute bacterial infection within 24 hours and 2 months unable to walk due to infection of the Achilles tendon.    As I am allergic to antibiotics I could not treat the infection hence the long recovery period.

 

There is a green traditional herbal tincture that you can possibly use, it may feel hot at first but stops itching ( especially mossie bites ), it also acts as a natural antibiotic.    Will try to find name.

[user343434]

try some cream with antihistamine stops immediately

 

and afterwards get a lawnmower.. 

[kickstart]

Without any photos, a job to say if it is a long grass could well be Para Grass, or Yar Con, in Thai, the itching is caused by tiny hairs on the grass rubbing against your skin,

I would say it would not be any chemicals, to my knowledge they would not cause any itching.

As someone said little red ants will cause itching, but you can at least see them.