Re: Hawthorn needles.. Poisonous? Severe pain.
Re: Hawthorn needles.. Poisonous? Severe pain.
Posted by: Eden (IP Logged)
Date: October 25, 2010 05:59
I am replying to this thread because I ended up being stabbed in the wrist about 14 hours ago by a hawthorn thorn and have gone through the 'wasp sting' and 'dizziness sensations' that some of you have mentioned...followed by the lack of mobility in my wrist, hand, and arm...followed tonight by redness, swelling, and finally the appearance of green discharge from the puncture wound.
Hawthorne thorns are not poisonous. They are however 'aposematic'(initially coloured as a warning to herbivores and humans) and recently researchers(Halpern, Raats, & Lav-Yade, 2007)have discovered that the thorns themselves harbor an array of pathogenic bacteria as yet another defense mechanism. The most common isolates they found on Hawthorn thorns are Enterococcus faecalis, E. faecium, Rahnella aquatilis, Shigella boydii, and Pantoea agglomerans.
Depending on where you get stabbed and your own immune response to these pathogens, you may very well require medical treatment. As this was the first site that I found before going to the medical databases to do my own research, I do hope that my answer will help others in the future.
It is time for you to seek medical attention when/if you see signs of infection that include: increased pain, heat, swelling, redness that spreads, loss of function, yellow, green or grey discharge
My source of information:
Halpern, M., Raats, D. & Lev-Yaden, S. (2007). Plant biological warfare:thorns inject pathogenic bacteria into herbivores. Environmental Microbiology, 9(3), 584-592. Retrieved from [journals2.scholarsportal.info.proxy2.lib.uwo.ca]:
2048/tmp/512323002418357254.pdf
Hawthorne thorns are not poisonous. They are however 'aposematic'(initially coloured as a warning to herbivores and humans) and recently researchers(Halpern, Raats, & Lav-Yade, 2007)have discovered that the thorns themselves harbor an array of pathogenic bacteria as yet another defense mechanism. The most common isolates they found on Hawthorn thorns are Enterococcus faecalis, E. faecium, Rahnella aquatilis, Shigella boydii, and Pantoea agglomerans.
Depending on where you get stabbed and your own immune response to these pathogens, you may very well require medical treatment. As this was the first site that I found before going to the medical databases to do my own research, I do hope that my answer will help others in the future.
It is time for you to seek medical attention when/if you see signs of infection that include: increased pain, heat, swelling, redness that spreads, loss of function, yellow, green or grey discharge
My source of information:
Halpern, M., Raats, D. & Lev-Yaden, S. (2007). Plant biological warfare:thorns inject pathogenic bacteria into herbivores. Environmental Microbiology, 9(3), 584-592. Retrieved from [journals2.scholarsportal.info.proxy2.lib.uwo.ca]:
2048/tmp/512323002418357254.pdf
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