16/07/2025
Giant hogweed (aka giant cow parsley) is a fairly common plant in the UK, we are seeing it everywhere at the moment, but did you know it is a toxic plant that can cause severe skin blisters*, burns and even blindness?
Toxic components in the leaves, stems, roots, flowers and seeds can be transferred to the skin by touch, and although these do not cause burning alone, they make skin sensitive to sunlight, which can then cause rashes, burns and severe blistering. How badly the skin is affected depends on the individual, but children are known to be particularly sensitive.
NHS guidance is to wash the area of skin with soap and water as quickly as possible and keep it covered.
If a burn appears, treat it as you usually would a burn:
🛑Stop the burn process as soon as possible.
🆒Cool the skin with cool running water for 20 minutes
✋🏻Cover the burn with cling film.
💊Treat the pain from a burn with paracetamol or ibuprofen.
🙋🏻Raise the affected area, if possible, to help to reduce swelling.
Please see your GP or call 111 if symptoms are severe or persistent.
*Please note, we have not been able to source an image of how skin blisters due to hogweed would look on black or brown skin - if this has happened to you and you would like to share the image to help others understand how this presents, please DM us 💚
Image credits:
Blister image: Dragan Marjanovic, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Hogweed Image: This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
