hawthorn

[jamie]

anyone know what it is in hawthorn that makes your hads / arms / stabbed areas feel sooooo odd after it has jabbed you?

so we are all on the same playing field its hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

jamie

 

[a_lopa]

i know what your saying, but i dont know what does it.

 

[fwf]

Don't know the chemical but it has a lot of medical uses from sedation to treatments for heart failure and high blood pressure.

 

[Kate Butler]

Some species of Crataegus contain hydrocyanic acid in the leaves - stands to reason that some could also transfer to you from being stuck.

 

[Gypo Logger]

While clearcutting a Hawthorn bush, I totaly snapped after getting pricked so many times and decided to take it out on the stuborn little shubery.
John
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=143

 

[leweee]

Neat saw holder. John

 

[Wales]

I know Hawthorn is bad.Its friend the blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) is no better.I had one in my knuckle once and it hurt for weeks. The tips of the spines snap of inside you as a reminder. I managed to get away from those and now I am faced with the thorns on a variety of date palms. get one of those babies in you and it will send you to the doctors with a swollen hand and an infection. Two of our groundsmen in the last month have ignored the pain and carried on working for awhile. Both ended up with some swollen hands requiring ER visits to pop them.

 

[notahacker]

GYPO LLOGGER!

That was a great attachment. :blob5:

 

[jamie]

so this hydrocyanic acid could be present in the thorns and when they *** you you get an allergic reaction to it?

jamie

 

[Acer]

I'm not sure whether there's something in the plant or it's the crud that sits on the spines that can lead to infection. I always think blackthorn is the worst. Once, I tried to turn over a pile of blackthorn brash with a pitchfork. Somehow I slipped and ended up on top of the pile and got a thorn in my knee. I thought nothing more of it until half an hour later, by which time my knee had locked solid. I couldn't bend it at all for the next four hours.

It's a good idea to wear safety glasses when handling that stuff. I heard of one bloke who lost an eye when he got a thorn in it. The initial wound was nothing, but infection set in and they had to remove it.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

I had a Blackthorn spine spend 7 (yes seven!) YEARS inside my arm. I thought it had come out a few days after I got spiked, but developed a hard lump on my arm. that stayed for 7 years, until I went to a turkish steam bath one night, and the lump burst, and in the goo was a 1/2 inch blackthorn spine. nasty things.

 

[Mr_Brushcutter]

Blackthawn is evil. However its my faviourt hedging plant throw in a field maple for standards bit of hawthorn and got a decent hedge.

The spikes can cause Tetnus so i'm told if. I've never done any work on hawthorn trees only the hedges. Can imagin a tree making a mess of your chainsaw trousers though.

 

[jamie]

ok on the injurys

on the injuries front ive had a hawthorn spine in my knuckle, could feel it inside, pulled it out quicksmart....mulchers dont seem to be affected by anything thorny...its great fun

jamie

 

[crimplene]

Nasty thorns

Blackthorn is the worst thorn ever! (apart from making sloe gin.. yum). I don't know whats in it but I've heard of big fat swollen hands and a trip to hospital to get the thorn. I managed to fell a hawthorn on top of me the other day I had to fight my way out and slash it into very small pieces until I felt better

 

[Kate Butler]

so this hydrocyanic acid could be present in the thorns and when they *** you you get an allergic reaction to it?

jamie

That's what it seems like to me. I've been stuck more than a few times and not had any awful reactions - but everyones' responses are different.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

i thought the reason for blackthorn and most other thorn jabs turning nasty was because the thorns usually have lots of nasty bacteria living on them..I had a blackthorn thorn pierce a fuel tank on a hedge trimmer last year

 

[highpoint-utd]

hmmm aint no bacteria that causes the infection its a fungal spore called fuminosa,its present on all plants in all temperate climates.if you get athorn in the eye this is what causes the loss of the eye because antibiotic work on the bacterium found on some thorns but mostly the anti -fungul meds dont work beacause they aint up to the job .here endeth the lesson

 

[syncom2]

Hello all,
I realize this is an old thread but I just did a quick surface search about the lingering effects that taking a thorn *** from a Hawthorn tree might give one. Thankfully I was able to find something of keen interest to me on this site, as I wasn't able to dig up much info otherwise. In saying that I must say that my daughter did a google search on my behalf a few weeks back and ran across an interesting article about "Thorn-induced synovitis." Which when reading through the article I found that I have many of those lingering issues that were spoken of in the article… on-going health issues that started for me on June 13, 2006.
Long story short is that within the hour of me being poked (which I immediately pulled out... thinking at the time that I had it all. Now, I just don’t know?????), my right hand and wrist area began swelling. For nearly two solid weeks I had substantial swelling. It was totally useless to me. Still, today… the wrist is barely swollen, but is very tender and sore all the time. That very evening I went to our local Urgent Care medical center. Had it x-rayed, nothing but a sprain was my diagnosis. Two days later I began a series of doctor visits… was put on antibiotics, the works… nothing helped. Then I had an Ultra Sound performed, more X-rays… and an MRI about four weeks ago. All tests revealed that nothing out of the interior ordinary was messed up in the hand/wrist area. I’ve been on steroids three or four times… did hand therapy, had cortisone injected in that area three times… nothing has worked but the cortisone, which was very temporary in bringing me relief. So now, with the information I now have from the “Thorn-induced synovitis” I am taking that information to my hand specialist tomorrow.
The main reason for this note today is ‘cos I was wondering if there are more stories out there like mine? If all my problems are from the Hawthorn tree’s thorn… as I believe they are - being so much “mechanical” issues have been negative, I can only urge everyone to be extremely cautious around those types of trees… unless you have a past record of them not bothering your chemical makeup after being poked.
Thanks!