The Friends of Les Mielles, an organisation set up to protect St Ouen’s Bay, says that it wants to warn Islanders about the potential dangers of hogweed after a group member brushed up against the plant.
Hogweed can cause severe phytophotodermatitis – a chemical reaction which makes skin hypersensitive to ultraviolet light and can result in burning, itching, stinging, and large blisters – if its sap comes into contact with human skin.
The woman inadvertently came into contact with the plant while walking her dog at Les Mielles de Morville nature reserve on Saturday.
‘A few hours later I started scratching. I thought: “Oh my God”. It’s not a nice feeling. I’ve been putting cream on it but it looks exactly the same. It’s like a blistery itch.’
The woman went back to the park the next day to take pictures of the plant in question so she could identify what had caused the rash.
She added: ‘There is quite a lot of it. I wanted to alert people so they can take care around this type of plant.’
However, he added that hogweed is present all over the Island and that it was not a plant that requires control.
