i found out today that i'm sensitive to fig latex. i've never had trouble beyond mild itching that goes right away, but on a job today i ran half a fig tree through a chipper. the latex splatters a bit when the foliage goes through, and runs a bit where the wood is cut and within an hour my hands, which are all scraped, cut and blistered from a week and a half or so of landscaping and splitting bambo began to burn, every single place the skin was remotely abraded or lacerated. within 15 min of noticing, it was what i imagine bad poison oak reaction is like. it took two scrubbings with dawn to get it to subside, and i still have a visible, but not bothersome rash.
if any of you have never had a reaction to figs before, be careful of any cuts or scrapes when cutting the wood or handling the foliage. that stuff can be gnarly.
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