This afternoon C asked me to bring his bike when I picked him up from camp. Instead, I told him he could ride his bike around our neighborhood once we got home. And this evening that's exactly what we did. It was a beautiful evening... sunny in the upper 70's with a wonderful breeze. C was really enjoying himself... racing away from me & then practicing his turns until I caught up to him.
Things were going good. Until he lost control & fell right into this deep ditch. It's difficult to capture the depth of the ditch but believe me when C fell in I could barely see him. My poor baby. He was crying and when I pulled him out he started screaming. Was he panicking over the possibility of seeing a bug or spider on his legs? No, he was crying & kept telling me that his legs were stinging. His legs were red with several wales. So we ran home.
S immediately put him in the shower and I was off to research what type of plant could have possibly caused these weals. Now I'm not you're hiking type of Grrrl... remember I'm the Grrrl who goes hiking in ballet shoes. I have no idea how to identify poisonous plants like Poison Ivy, Poison Oak , or Poison Sumac. So I quickly grabbed my camera and went back to the scene and took some close up shots of the plants in the ditch.
The culprit? Stinging Nettle. It was everywhere. I should have known. C touched this plant our first summer here in Belgium. Fortunately, I was with someone who knew her plants inside & out and found another plant that quickly took the stinging away. Based on my research tonight, this plant is known as a dock plant.
C's doing much better now and the redness & weals are almost gone. Just in case it happens again I need to become an expert in identifying the dock plant.
Poor Lil C, the same thing happens to X in our backyard. Best remedy I have used is just white vinegar on soaked cotton, it reduces the sting and swelling quickly. Hope he feels better. xx
Posted by: Greek girl | 14 July 2010 at 01:50
Ouch! I had never heard of the dock plant, but it's good to know. Hope C is feeling better soon.
Posted by: Dallas | 17 July 2010 at 00:09