My husband phoned me at work that he needed to go to
emergency...his vision was blurry and he noticed one
pupil was dilated. At the hospital his Doctor discounted
the biggest fears but was wondering what chemicals DH had
been around. Eventually, after going through the day
step by step, they zeroed in on a pail that I use to water
the brugs...my husband had cleaned them out because they
had leaves floating in them....brug leaves. At least
it was diluted... How many others have had someone
react and was unaware of what caused it?...I had warned
him in the summer when I was taking cuttings but....
Brugged Eyes
My goodness, is he alright now? I never relized the leaves would be that toxic.....So far with any I have handled I haven't had any problems but I always make sure to wash my hands.....
Dee
I think that was the step he missed...just thought it was
plain old water. He's fine now, but sure was worried
when he called me! Glad it wasn't full strength
with him not being aware. His Doctor was on the up and
up though...he didn't know what a brug was but after
going through everything else that DH did he was pretty
sure it was the leaves.
This message was edited Mar 10, 2004 11:22 PM
I think a few have had this happen. Im glad to know it wasnt anything more serious.
From what I remember the brugs have scopolamine in them. Its a dilating agent. It makes the near vision terrible, and makes the eye/s sensitive to light. I think the dilation can last up to 3-4 days, less in light colored eyes.
It makes sense that the water from cuttings would also cause side effects, but I wouldnt have ever thought about it either.
Bless his heart... but again Im glad it wasnt a tumor or somthing along those lines.
That was one of his initial fears...awful when you aren't
aware of what caused it. The Doctor took the spelling of
it so he could check in his poison manuals and check with
the poison control centre. I assured him that I "knew"
others that had the juice, full strength, spurt into
their eyes and that the effects did wear off (after a few
days). The nurses said DH's condition was "the freakiest"
they had seen in a long while and had never seen it without
a tumor, etc. being present. They did ask alot of questions
about the brugs though...loved the description of the plant
and it's blooms! :)
This message was edited Mar 10, 2004 11:21 PM
He's one lucky man for it not to have been worse.
I had the juice squirt in my eye while I was pruning them. My eye stayed dilated for 3 days before it got back to normal. I posted on this forum asking if anyone thought I needed to see the dr. and they all told me it would go away on its own, but if I did go to tell them that a side effect was muscle relaxation, like the drops the eye dr. puts in your eyes. I was fine when it wore off, and no lingering side effects.
Mine have been dialated a few times from it and most of the time I didn't realize it till someone else noticed it.It does freak them out!
Its lasted 3 days max,and 1 1/2 days minmimum ,with no lasting effects.....
usually it happens when I'm stripping the leaves....
Thank you for the info and your experiences...I think I
will print this off in case the doctor calls back :)
I've had brug eyes a couple times, so now I try to be careful not to touch my eyes after I handle them. once they dilated so much that I couldn't go outside in the bright sun for the rest of the day. it does wear off (after a few days of being teased at work for looking like a drug addict!)
Sometimes, I notice that my eyes feel "blurry," I need to be more careful of washing my hands after working with the plants. Thanks for the reminder.