Huckleberry/Wild Blueberry Jam, yumm. Rash, hives yuk!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I picked huckleberries and wild blueberries on Friday, over a gallon. I got wet and cold, it was raining…in the rain forest, where I picked them. The drive there and back took 2 hours, each way.

On Saturday, I cleaned the leaves, bugs and stems from them. Wow, those stems take a lot of time, the berries are sooo small.

At 10:30 on Saturday night, I made 6 pints of jam. Hot work over boiling sugar and berries.

This morning, at 7:30, I got up, mouth watering for some of my hard labor on toast. Yummmm, it was perfect! Two pieces of warm toast with a touch of real butter and a big dollop of the beautiful, deep purple heaven!

At 8:30, my forehead started to itch. Huh, dry skin, put a little lotion on it. 8:32, head itches, cheeks itch, neck itches. OH NO!

I took and antihistamine, the hives are subsiding, my face still itches, its not as swollen. I’m trying my best not to scratch.

Well, my husband loves any kind of jam, so I won’t have to give it all away. :frowning: Og doesn’t love me any more. He made me allergic to my favorite berry. :rolleyes:
So, how’s your weekend shaping up?

2

Are you sure it’s the berries? If in fact you’re allergic to them, wouldn’t your skin have gone berserk while you were picking them, or at least when you made the jam? Cleaning them would have gotten a fair amount of juice on your hand, wouldn’t it?.

Anything else it might be? I sure hate to think of you being denied the fruits of your labor.

3

No, food allergies usually don’t manifest by just touching the food. I went to bed after making the jam, so, I hadn’t touched or eaten anything else.
I may try it again anyway, I love life on the edge :smiley:

4

I hope is just a coincidence, if not I know where you can unload some of that jam. :smiley:

5

Well… Okay.

But I’m finding it hard to believe you didn’t eat any of those berries while you were picking them, didn’t pop a few into your mouth while making the jam. :dubious: :wink:

Okay, okay! I just know if it had been me picking those berries… :smiley:

6

In fact, I didn’t. If they were blackberries, I would have but the blueberries just look like they need to be washed first.
Actually, I did itch a little yesterday, but I didn’t think much of it.
VenusProbe You just close your eyes and hold your hands in front of your CD drawer, it will be there… soon…er or later… or not.

7

I’m thinkin’ that you got some Poison Ivy or Poison Oak on your clothing, & later passed the toxic oils to your skin by handling those clothes.

Do any laundry? If so, re-wash everything! You may have transferred the oils to the rest of the clothes in the load.

8

No, I know what poison ivy looks like. Hives don’t really look like poison ivy.
The hives go away after taking an antihistamine, and don’t come back unless I’m silly enough to try the jam again.
Its the jam. sigh. :frowning:
I wonder if they’d give me jam shots to desensitize me…naw, I doubt the little seeds would go through the needle. :smiley:

9

Thats so sad, after all the work you did too. :frowning:

If it’ll help any, my earlier offer still stands. :wink:

10

OK, Of course you’ll still have to get around hubby.
Actually, I’m going to make more jam today. I froze enough berries to do two more batches. E-mail me, you might get lucky. :wink:

Not THAT way!

11

Well, you know, if you’re not eating that jam…

:wink:

12

FWIW I’m allergic to shellfish and my hands break out just by handling crabs or shrimp. I have had an allergic reaction on my hands and arms by washing dishes that were used to cook and eat shellfish. Which also got transfered “down below” when I took a bathroom break while doing the dishes. :eek: That sucked more than words can properly express. Sure, swelling down there sounds like a good thing, but it’s not. Trust me.

13

That’s because you’re not allergic to the essential animal protein. You’re allergic to iodine.
At least that’s the cause of most shellfish allergies. Since iodine is a smaller molecule, skin sensitivities are more common.

14

Ah, picunurse you are in my hometown, and I haven’t seen a huckleberry in almost 17 years. While I am sorry about your hives and not being able to enjoy the fruits of your labor (pun intended) I would be more than happy to trade you something yummy from Kodiak in exchange for a jar or two of your yummy jam. Salmonberries in your neck of the woods are pathetic, while here they grow larger than both of my thumbs (thumbs side-by-side) and we have lots of blueberries, cranberries (both low and high bush) not to mention all of the treats from the sea. If you are interested in a trade, please email me. It’s too late for jam this year, but my husband is at this very moment king crab fishing, and I have some very lucious smoked red salmon… :smiley:

/slight hijack/
When my brothers and I ran amok in the rural areas of North Seattle in the '60’s we picked huckleberries, blueberries, and my favorite, blackberries, by the bushel. Blackberries won’t grow here, but this summer Safeway had pint baskets of the large variety, and I selfishly horded them from the kids, my bad!
/end hijack/

15

:eek:.
I get a reaction to the plant and the berries. I thought i was only allergic to eating them, but no. I decided to pick some for my husband, and after a couple of minutes my lips started to swell and go numb. So much for that.

16

It’s probably bed bugs. You got it right after you went to bed right?

<Note: Just the obligatory bed bug reference, one needs every now and then, not a real answer> :smiley:

17

No, no, it really doesn’t. At least not like that.

18

I know you’re a nurse and everything, but… isn’t it the case that now that you’re sensitized to it, the next exposure could cause anaphylaxis? Pardon me if I’ve misheard that somewhere.

19

:confused:
picunurse are you still all broke out after 5 years, because I would guess it’s not a Blueberry allergy in that case. I know we’re not supposed to give medical advice, but the hives should be gone by now.