Had something weird happen this morning.

I used the weed eater to cut down some grass around my okra rows. Used it for less than 5 minutes. I was holding the shaft/throttle with my right hand and the hand bar with my left.

After shutting the weedeater off, my hands immediately felt like they were itchy, although there was nothing on them and no amount of scratching would help. After about 5 minutes the itching stopped and then my right hand started to swell up. Within 10 minutes it was swollen up enough that I couldn't make a closed fist.

I've put ice on it thru the day and the swelling has started to go down, but this scares the crap out of me. Only thing I can think of is the vibrations of the weedeater messed with the nerves in my right hand and caused it to swell somehow.

Have any of you ever heard of anything like this happening from vibrations..?

I had a full round of allergy test a few years ago and I was immune to just about everything, so I don't think an allergen started it.

Does Carpal Tunnel cause anything like this.?

Sounds like you got bit by an insect.

sounds more like an allergic reaction.

Okra plants will do that to some folks even though they have no problems eating it.

that is what I wad thinking...

I've had that happen several times over the years. Don't know why and it soon went away but have never not been able to make a fist. I have hay fever too but it is not severe enough to get professional help, just annoying. Take a Zyrtec or benadryl and see if it improves...

I don't know what to think fellas. I don't see and didn't feel any type of bug sting. The itching was on the inside of the palm, opposite of the knuckles.

The okra plants are just a few inches tall, I didn't touch any of them, just weeded around them.

Thinking it might be an allergen, I took a Benadryl about 15 minutes ago. I haven't noticed any changes yet.

Very weird..!

I'm betting insect, caterpillar, or allergic reaction to the okra.

If the swelling doesn't dissapate after 4 hours seek medical assistance.




Oh wait, that is for a different swelling condition.

I always liked okra but hated working it. When I was 7 yrs old, My Grandad told me to go to the garden and cut some okra cause family was coming for supper. I took a cane knife and leveled it to the ground leaving a 3" stub on the several rows.

Family took turns whippin my little ass that evening.

Let me add,..if I die in the night due to my tongue swelling up or some fool thing,..It's been a blast..!

Heck if that happens for 4 hours,..I'm gonna call Guiness, take some pics and make some phone calls. That's not the time to seek medical attention...!





Now that's funny right there. I bet you did get you butt beat over that one..!

I've had similar situations, with both a weed eater and leaf blower. Don't think it was quite that bad and only after using them for much longer periods of time.

do you have hair growing on your palm, might be something else causing it

If you get the swelling down and your hands return to normal, than the next time you weed whack uses a good pair of leather gloves. If your hands swell up again then it may have something to do with the vibrations of the whacker.

My right hand is swelled up. I'm a Leftie..!

TFF!

Where you holding the tool low with your right hand? Could be just blood collecting in the low hand, though the short period is strange.

While backpacking many, myself included, will have the hands swell due to the hands staying low most the time and being fairly inert. Doesn't happen while running as you pump your arms or when I work all day on the jobsite swinging/lifting.

Possible the vibration could have sped up the process.

The itching also matches... probably not it but if it goes away fairly quick, maybe.

Kent

Sounds like you're dying.

Allergies do some strange things. You can have none at all then all of a sudden they hit you. I got allergic to sagebrush pollen that way. I was out bowhunting and watching the pollen blow in the wind. I'd done that for years, but this time it hit me immediately and I've had problems every since. Poison ivy is also that way. You can be immune for years, then all of a sudden it nails you and you'll react to it from then on.

A good cure for that is trekking poles. They keep the arms moving and the blood flowing.

Weedeating with a straight shaft...handle forward...weadeater makes my carpal tunnel and tendonitis really flare up.

The last weedeater I bought, (Stihl), I got the handle bar front and a good strap so I'm not holding the constant weight.

Still bothers me, but not NEAR as much...Next time, I'd try and rig it where you're not holding your arms in a fixed position while holding the weight. Try and disperse some of it to your shoulders maybe...just a thought.

My guess with your almost instantaneous itching and swelling, that it's either a bite of some kind or your hands worked up a good sweat and some kind of pollen that you might be allergic to got into your pores.

My step-son last year had something similar happen to his arm, but it was over a couple day's and turned out to be a serious super staff infection, that apparently entered his blood system through the hair follicles on his arm.

Doctors had him in the hospital for 3 day's on high dose antibiotics, and just barely kept it from getting into his bone marrow.

But his whole arm swelled up and turned blood red!

To this day, he doesn't know how he picked it up, there was no scratches, cuts, or breaks in the skin.


Phil

Is your step son okay? Has this happened again?

He's OK and it never happened again yet, but that kid for just being something like 43 years old sure picks up some strange diseases.

8 or 10 years ago, one side of his face was paralyzed for about 3 weeks, they have a name for what ever it was, but I can't remember what it was, couldn't hardly even talk.


Phil

Glad he's okay. They never stop giving you grey hairs do they!

DD, as always I've got [bleep] backwards and had to talk to the wife to get things straight.

It wasn't Chuck's arm, but rather his lower leg and knee where the swelling and blood infection took place, doctors called it Cellulitus, and the thing with his face was called Bell's Palsy... both had him really scared, and he spent a few day's in the hospital for both.

And the doctors don't know what caused either!


Phil

ZOMBIES for sure! Or did you get drunk and mock a rattlesnake?

I'm amazed that people grow that stuff intentionally.

Sounds like bee sting.

Benadryl, my friend, Benadryl.

Bells palsy

Bells palsy As a dr, i didn't know of normal people not liking okra. i mean, in germany they don't eat corn, nor blackeyed peas up north in places-but okra- must be a mental problem.

Boy, sounds like some serious stuff. Hope it doesn't come back.

+1 Keeping a couple in your wallet for any odd future occurrence isn't a bad idea either.

Last year my wife was at her mother's place where she ate a piece of old stale licorice. It must have had some mold or something in it because she about went viral. They got her to a quick care place where they loaded her up with hospital strength benadryl, not the over the counter stuff. It was strong enough that they had to keep her there for a couple hours to make sure she didn't react to it. It took care of the allergy reaction but it was kind of nasty for a while.

The itching is probably the key signal here. you are describing a fairly severe allergic reaction. It is not uncommon for an allergic reaction to show up in this manner.

Were it me, I would suspect the okra since people do have allergies to it commonly enough. I would be extremely careful of okra until I found out for certain, since the next exposure could cause a much worse reaction. I would suspect that the weed whacker caused enough very small particles of okra to become airborne and inhaled.

You can either go to an allergist and get tested for okra sensitivity, or try a simpler test with help and supervison at hand. If you want to try the simple test make sure you have benadryl and someone to get you to an emergency room at hand. the simple test would be to mush up some okra and smear it on the inside of your fore arm. A dime sized spot is more than enough, and let your helper handle it. If it was the okra, you'll know it quickly, it will swell and redden the area it was on. If you can feel it in your lips and tongue get in the car take the benadryl and go to the emergency room before you get worse. If you are allergic to okra this instance could be the warning that you are sensitized. The next exposure could very well trigger a much stronger response.

About ten years ago I used a small gas weedeater for a couple of hours. After I finished, the hand that held the shaft handle felt like it had gone to sleep from the constant vibration.

It didn't quit tingling for several days after. Sort of scared me. I started using a weedeater with a shoulder strap and handlebars and never had any more problems.

If this makes you nervous, you could also do a DIY test in the waiting room of the ER. It could save a frenzied drive.
Your best bet, though, is an allergist. He might find something more serious that you really want to know about.

I thought about advising him to go to the hospital before trying it. I don't like his odds explaining having a friend smear okra on his forearm should he be observed. He'd likely wind up medicated and strapped to a gurney, especially if he was the least bit incoherent. The the next thing you know there'd be thousands of druggies trying to get high on okra, he'd be famous on you tube, and if he didn't react the hospital would still likely charge him a few thousand dollars.

I shouldn't make fun. My wife was discharged from the local hospital with antibiotics. The next morning after taking her meds she tells me her mouth and tongue feel funny. I did a quick check on her and rushed her to the ER which fortunately is only 2 miles away. By the time I got her there she was in anaphylaxis. They had to do a cut down to get a vein that hadn't collapsed to get an IV into her, and she spent a day in ICU and a day on the ward before she was stable enough to go home. She had never shown a reaction to that antibiotic before (exposure came from eating meat raised on antibiotics).

It's a very serious matter if Deerwhacker is allergic to okra.

I was looking forward to offering my two cents, but, until a quick Google search, I didn't even know what okra was! (People eat that stuff??)

Deerwhacker hasn't posted an update today--hope he's OK!!

fried okra is good stuff. pickled okra is too. just don't eat boiled okra becuase it will be sitting in your chair when you get up to leave.

Ha! That could add some excitement to your day!

Deerwhacker,

Are you OK?

We need an update.

Still here, still kicking.

I still don't think it was an allergic reaction the okra by itself. This will give you an idea of what I was weedeating. I wasn't even close to the okra, just trimming up the verge on the sides. You can see the little okra plants in the middle of the row.



However, an allergic reaction to some of the misc. weeds, now that might be a possibility.

A few days ago, I dug some up and transplanted some of the little okra plants. I was handling them fine without any problems, so I don't think it the okra.

The swelling in my hand is gone, but it's still a little sore on the underside.

I'm betting it was the vibration of the machine working with some undiagnosed type of carpal tunnel/tendonitis or something going on.

Just to be on the safe side,..I better swear off all forms of manual labor till I get it figure out. You know,...for my health.!





You haven't lived till you've had some good fried okra. Not the batter dipped stuff at the Quick-E Mart, the homemade stuff tossed in cornmeal.

I can't think of anything that complements some fresh catfish like fried potatoes and fried okra.

Pickled is pretty good too if you don't mind a hairy pickle.



Never tried it boiled, but I believe you. Okra is loaded with natural fiber.!

Glad to hear you're OK.

It looks like you were digging a grave. What's up with that?

Isn't that called "a stroke"?

We will be growing okra in the greenhouse again this year. Will have you guys up for a sample when it is ripe. I love it fried but my wife likes it steamed blanched. Good tasting and it is good for you. A treat for us in the Northwest.

Hmmmm....if you find out what 'it was'....how about sending a case of it to Obama!!

Gas weed eater? Could it be a reaction to fuel on your hands getting vibrated into your skin? Wouldn't take but a little. I had something like that happen though it was just itching and a little redness, I don't react to gas or oil ON my skin.

Had okra exactly once. Must be one of those love/hate things, never met anyone that just sorta likes it.

try spilling a little mixed gas on an aluminum boat seat, sit on it, fish all day. good luck. grin

Yeah, gives it time to sink in. Can't remember doing anything like that but it DOES ring a bell.

You are clearly allergic to lawn work of any kind and must avoid any future incidents or reactions related to chores and honeydoos may be severe.

Timber Faller's disease out here in the Pacific NW. Some guys have had to give up chain saws. The vibes affect some folks more than others.

Bothers me a little if I use one of my old McCulloch 125's. No problem with the newer Stihl AV saws.