Attempts 27/28/29 July

[fellgazelle]

I do recall my legs feeling prickly (like stinger nettle stings) from the bottom of Clough Head having run through a big patch of very tall wispy grass but to be honest my legs usually take a battering from thorns and heather so the prickliness wasn't something particularly out of the ordinary. And while I was running I didn't notice a rash at all (I was wearing baggy running shorts and wouldn't have been able to see much any way) but when I changed into my running tights in the pub at Wasdale it was kind of worrying to see the blotches, although even then my total knackeredness took my mind off it at the time. I didn't then change out of my running tights until Sunday afternoon (haha, we were camping ) and the rash by then had reached beubonic plague like proportions (well almost).

I have had a similar allergic reaction years ago... not running, but walking through I think it was a barley field or some such, similar crop anyway... It made me feel feverish and under the weather tired, as well as causing a violent rash... So would not be at all surprised if you were affected by it, other than the rash...

Yes I have regularly experienced the same symptoms under similar conditions to both of these. Usually after a few hours the prickliness and soreness of the skin starts to recede, but the rash can still itch in localised spots for a few days. It can take about a week for the spots to fully disappear after prolonged exposure.

[Stolly]

It can take about a week for the spots to fully disappear after prolonged exposure.

My blotches are just starting to disappear now...... so no excuses for Borrowdale tomorrow

[Alf]

My money is on the bracken. There are a few legitimate reports on the health implications of contact with bracken and they mention that some people get severe rashes. Its also carcinogenic to animals which is why a lot of money gets spent on eradicating it in certain areas. The spores are carcinogenic too, not that that is relevant at this time of year but it could be the grass. Another suggestion is the insects that live in the bracken may have caused it.

My legs can itch when I have been out running in fields when its wet. Sometimes it feels like nettle stings but there is no marking or rash present. I reckon the water flattens the hairs on your legs so the grass gets more contact.

"Grass has a serated edge on its blade and makes tiny cuts on your skin. Many of these gives the itching sensation. If you have ever run through a cornfield without a shirt on, you are very familiar with this fact. The main reason though for the itching sensation is the litle "hairs" on the grass. look closly with a magnifying glass on the underside of a blade of grass, it is covered with tiny hairs, at the tip of each is a drop of fluid (too small for the naked eye to see) which contains an irritating substance the grass secretes for protection from herbivores. the serated edge is also meant for the same purpose."

[Hes]

Good detective work Alf! That's really interesting. I've always suffered from what my mum has called 'grass rash' since I was a kid but fortunately it is a lot milder than Stolly's lurgylegs. I just get an itchy rash of tiny red dots where the contact has been and that tends to last about an hour or two and then disappears with no after effects. I did roll down a hill into giant hogweed once when I was about five and the following day my skin came up in massive water blisters all over and none of the other kids would go near me on the school trip Haven't done that since, although I do still roll down hills now and again:thumbup:

My legs can itch when I have been out running in fields when its wet. Sometimes it feels like nettle stings but there is no marking or rash present. I reckon the water flattens the hairs on your legs so the grass gets more contact.

"Grass has a serated edge on its blade and makes tiny cuts on your skin. Many of these gives the itching sensation. If you have ever run through a cornfield without a shirt on, you are very familiar with this fact. The main reason though for the itching sensation is the litle "hairs" on the grass. look closly with a magnifying glass on the underside of a blade of grass, it is covered with tiny hairs, at the tip of each is a drop of fluid (too small for the naked eye to see) which contains an irritating substance the grass secretes for protection from herbivores. the serated edge is also meant for the same purpose."