Saturday morning bright and early, I met Elder and Sister Crump and we walked/hiked the Wild Iris Ridge Trail. The trailhead is close to where I live and it is a loop trail so we started and ended at the same location. It is only 3 ½ miles round trip so we were back before it got too hot. It was 92 degrees Saturday afternoon 95 on Sunday.
The wild iris blooms for about 3 weeks each spring. They are at the peak right now. They were all over the hill sides. BEAUTIFUL!!
The sunrise through the trees and the wild flowers made for a beautiful start to the day.
As I walked the path I could hear frogs. I could never see them
but thought you might like to hear their happy chatter. Turn up your volume.
It has been a pretty routine week but I did have one call from a missionary that caused me to do some study. They told me that they had been handling parsnips and got a burn that was blistering. Have you ever heard of a wild parsnip burn? It was something new to me. Here is what I learned:
The wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is a tall plant with yellow flowers. Although the roots are edible, the plant’s sap can result in burns (phytophotodermatitis).
The burns are a reaction between the plant’s sap and your skin. The reaction is triggered by sunlight. It isn’t an immune or allergic response, but rather a sun-sensitive skin reaction due to the plant substance.
What exactly is phytophotodermatitis?
Phytophotodermatitis is a skin reaction caused by a substance found in many plants, including wild parsnip. This substance is called furanocoumarin, or furocoumarins.
Furanocoumarin causes your skin to be extra sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light. When the sap from the leaves and stems of these plants gets on your skin, and your skin is then exposed to sunlight, an inflammatory reaction takes place.
Other plants that may cause phytophotodermatitis
- carrot
- celery
- fennel
- fig
- giant hogweed
- lime
- mustard
- wild dil
- wild parsley
Symptoms of wild parsnip burns
About 24 hours after getting wild parsnip sap on your skin and being exposed to sunlight, you’ll begin to experience symptoms.
Symptoms start with an intense local burning sensation, followed by a red rash. Over the next couple of days, the rash may get worse — sometimes with severe blistering.
Some people may not recall any redness or blistering. Instead, you may see irregular patches on the skin, sometimes as linear streaks, a random cluster of small spots, or even fingerprint-sized spots.
After about 3 days, the symptoms start to get better. Eventually, like after a bad sunburn, the burned skin cells die and flake off.
As symptoms improve, the rash may appear lighter or darker. Discoloration and sensitivity to sunlight in the affected areas can remain for up to 2 years.
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| Wild parsnip |
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| Wild cow parsnip |
The missionary wasn’t sure if it was wild cow parsnip or just wild parsnip. They didn’t see the flowers.
Anyway, they put ice on the burn and blisters, took ibuprofen, and applied hydrocortisone and later some aloe. I was told that it was very painful!
I helped in the office with a post office run, organization, and helped move some cars from one area to another. The missionaries are in pretty good health for the most part so my “nursing” duties have been fairly light.
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| My friend, Diana, wanted to give the missionaries a treat so she bought a huge box of Oreos at Costco and asked me to take it to the missionaries. I’ve been putting them out on the counter this week. They are disappearing with great joy. |
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| I saw this pretty blue jay down by the river on one of my walks this week. |
I was visiting with a missionary about having a positive attitude. When discussing positivity, I always think of a quote by Charles Swindoll:
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes”
I pray that your week will be filled with positive thoughts and happiness.
I love my Savior.
I love you my family and friends.
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