What can I do about skin diseases caused by plants?

  Nature has many species, and while flowers and trees bring us happiness and health, they can sometimes cause distress. Some plants and their products can trigger a variety of adverse skin reactions. Most of the reactions are caused by direct contact, and although the types vary, most are preventable and treatable. Included in the classification of adverse reactions are urticaria, contact dermatitis, and phytophotodermatitis.  Urticaria is a systemic reaction that does not occur only at the site of contact. Plant-induced urticaria can have a pattern of reactions such as erythema and dermatitis, in addition to the wind mass. The latter condition is actually relatively rare, and patients tend to be individuals who have been handling a particular food for a long time. Plants that have been reported to cause urticaria include common vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, shrubs, algae, mosses, trees, and graminaceous plants. All plants have the potential to trigger skin lesions, but only the most commonly exposed plants cause clinical disease. Celery is the plant most likely to cause generalized urticaria or allergy-like reactions.  After exposure to an allergenic plant, the affected individual may experience itching, erythema, swelling, and even blistering throughout the body, and sometimes, only itching, burning, or pain. Some patients with chronic dermatitis may experience an aggravation of existing lesions or a new onset of acute urticaria. Chronic hand or fingertip eczema caused by plants has a complex pathogenesis.  Once an allergic reaction occurs, the allergen should be removed and disengaged immediately. Oral antihistamines are sometimes helpful. If the symptoms are complicated, it is better to go to the hospital as soon as possible for prompt management.  Prevention is most important and the common urticaria-causing plants are listed here in the hope that more attention will be paid to them: kiwi, onion, garlic, pineapple, apple, mango, banana, apricot, plum, peach, pear, celery, cabbage, parsley, sweet orange, grapefruit, cucumber, carrot, fig, lettuce, potato, chrysanthemum, tulip, corn, etc. Among them, the two most common ones reported in foreign literature are celery and potato, and the common ones in China are peanuts and other legumes and various types of pollen.