Oyster plant and skin contact dermatitis

Planting medicinal herbs in my garden for the purpose of cooking convenient and it's part of my enjoyment. Some herbs are useful in self cure healing but it may also harmful to our bodily or skin when we wrongly ingested or skin contact with it.

Until I personally experienced it, due to my carelessness and without proper precaution in handling the poisonous herb plant. And how harmful it can be in handling it.

This topic of "handling poisonous herbs plant" can really a serious case. It caused me a painful learning lesson. By now I should be more careful in handling herb plant with further researches information plus caution.

Most important, use medicinal herbs properties for natural healing not only MUST "know how to" but also MUST know "its poisoning contains for oral intakes or external application and skin contact side effect".

You never know when you going to come in contact with poisoning medicinal herbs. Some herbs are poisoning to skin contact and causes allergic plant contact dermatitis. Other than Poison Ivy, Oyster plant is one of them which can cause the itchy skin lesion and irritation or allergic reaction like eczema seriously.

I gotcha! Look at this horrible hand of mine. This is what I have "Poisonous Plant Contact Dermatitis" by Oyster Plant. That's why the reason I stop this blog for almost 3 weeks.


My hand is accidentally touched the Oyster plant water sap and it really hurts and the itchiness make me understand more about poisoning in handling herbs with skin contact.

Look at the picture of how I suffered by allergic plant dermatitis after 1 hour. Skin contact with its toxin substances shown red patches and burning sensation.







This picture shown after 4 hours of burning sensation and itches causes eczema and blisters. The rapid forming of blisters more obviously. My hand swells like roasted pork and burning itches.







I tried to recall back how I got that, and self diagnosis before trying to find a cure never thought of what’s causes that, and I think it over again, I might be accidentally contact with the oyster plant sap while clearing the wild grass in my herb garden. I felt my arm stinging and itching of the skin appears small red patches after I left my garden, my arm is having stinging with watery like type of big blisters and begin to itch.


I went to consult doctor immediately, chloramines and hyomide tablets is given to stop the ithches and skin cream contains Cortisone and steroids. After application it has not improved and yet worsen. The Steroids are less effective when the skin is blistered I guess. Spread of the allergy to other areas and the swelling and itchy pain is indescribable.

After 3 days of medication and cream, still suffering the itchiness and pains. I gave up the medication and cream afraid of the harmful side effect. I decided to use natural alternatives way to replace cortisone cream just to stop the itches.

As the itchy skin that occur rashes, and the blister burst watery type of fluid came out from my skin, it really painful and feel horrible with that stage. Worse come to worst, I tried self cure method by using ice compress to the areas for 15 minutes and avoid scratching which may cause more irritate to the skin lead to more itching. I dried the affected with hair dryer to stop the itch first, cold compress and warm dryer alternatively to reduce the itchiness.

Then I prepare 2 tbsp. of baking powder + 1 tbsp of corn flour, add 1 part of water into a paste form lightly pat and rub baking powder over the skin rash. Finally I can see the baking powder dry up the rash and help relieve the itching after 2 days.

my hand is applied with Baking Powder + corn flour paste.

Surprisingly to see the swell has reduced in size and redness gone. The blisters started to burst and dried up in 2 days.








Baking powder neutralizes acid on the skin, corn flour has its soothing effect and help reduces itchy and dried up the blisters. Eventually I see the swell reduced with rapid improvement and burning sensation is gone. The result is unbelievable and it helps limiting the spread of rash, stimulate circulation and gently soothing relieves the itchiness.



After 2 weeks the skin started to dry and healed, follow by the application of calamine lotion, and using egg white and kaolin powder in mask form help in reducing the sensitive and egg white for lightening the scars seemed to heal faster.











What is Oyster plant

Oyster plant also namely “Moses in the cradle” its properties contains photochemical studies yielded alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, saponins, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids, tannin and phenolic coumpounds and oil. It has long strap leaves which are green on top and purple to green on the bottom.

Further with researched and knew that Oyster plant is poisonous if skin contact the water sap can cause serious skin eczema and dermatitis. Due to its toxin substances actually causes an irritant a rash develops on the skin, rashes and continue to ooze and crusts, blisters is form and getting bigger that sensation of burning and itchy prolong till the blister burst. The itchy and irritant dermatitis is another cause may be due to its alkaloids properties allergy to me.

Usually the side effects from herbs are less common than side effects from drugs. It is advisable to take it with full caution and consult professional or their physician as cautions on prescribing.









Oyster plant can be an ornament plant and medicinal plant. Some of my friends asked me, since this oyster plant is so poisoning to skin contact, it might also burn the internal organs as well. To believe it or not, we are taking this oyster plant since young and cook it regularly it with barley, black beans or rock sugar for sore throat healing and anti-inflammation purposes. It tastes nice and healing effect is fast especially for cough, sore throat and urinary tract infection problem.

In medicinal usages its claimed benefits are varied and many help in relieve of cough, coughing phlegm with blood, sore throat, relieve tonsillitis, whooping cough, nose bleed and lung problems and it has cooling properties to human body. Yet to find out more about the healing effect and its side effect of large quantities are eaten, and the proper dosage to consume are unknown. Most herbs may have its poisonous but yet curing effect so it is best to cook it for more than 2 hours to reduce its toxicity. Poisonous Plant does occur, to be cautions do not simply take it without consult your physician or doctor and further knowledge.

Different people can have different reactions to the same substance. As for me, I considered myself hypersensitive to most herbs and western medication allergy. Even to certain fruit like pineapple and Noni fruit with immediate adverse reaction like nausea, skin rashes, lips swelling, breathless and vomiting symptoms occurred once I consumed. I fell it is hard to imagine that eating a pineapple and taking Noni juice as if can cause death to me and I need to be very careful due to allergies to its Xeronine is an alkaloid contains.

Further more, NOT again into this kind of skin contact with poisonous plant. I swear it will not happen again because I FEAR. it's really a scary experience to me. Anyway, this is one real experiment in handling poisonous herbs plant to me. Hope this blog would help others to avoid cause pain and try to avoid in skin contact with poisonous herb plants.