Student, 28, left resembling a ‘Teletubby’ when her face started swelling and blisters erupted on her hand after brushing past ‘Britain’s most dangerous plant’ giant hogweed while on a dog walk
- Graphic design student Tina Sabine, 28, brushed against giant hogweed
- The contact with Britain’s ‘most dangerous plant’ caused severe injuries
A 28-year-old student was left looking like a ‘Teletubby’ and walking with a stick- after brushing against Britain’s ‘most dangerous plant’ while walking her dogs.
Tina Sabine, 28, says she woke up one morning in 2021 to find she ‘physically couldn’t move’ and to discover her right hand had erupted in blisters.
The panicked student quickly called a friend who rushed her to Warwick A&E where she claims medics assumed someone had poured acid over her hand because of the severity of her injuries.
It wasn’t until she arrived at the hospital that Ms Sabine looked in the mirror and saw that her face had swollen to such an extent that she looked like ‘a Teletubby’.
The graphic design student says doctors then suspected an allergic reaction but was later told she came into contact with toxic giant hogweed after being transferred to Birmingham Hospital.
Graphic design student Tina Sabine, 28, suffered severe injuries after brushing up against giant hogweed while walking her dogs
The 28-year-old suffered severe burns and was left walking with a stick
The student from Royal Leamington Spa rushed to hospital due to coming into contact with Britain’s ‘most dangerous plant’
Giant hogweed has been called Britain’s ‘most dangerous plant’
The student was left walking with a stick after coming in contact with the toxic plant
The graphic design student from Royal Leamington Spa suffered severe swelling
READ MORE: What does giant hogweed look like? Gardening expert explains how to spot it – and how to rid of it
Ms Sabine suspects she’d touched the toxic plant the day before when she’d been walking her dogs Mocha and Latte.
She was forced in hospital for one month and it was two weeks until she was able to walk again and had to use a mobility scooter for six months.
Now, the 28-year-old student is forced to use a walking stick to get around and still can’t use her right hand.
Ms Sabine, from Royal Leamington Spa, West Midlands, said: ‘I went to bed absolutely fine. I woke up and I couldn’t physically move. I was in pain, not terrible just annoying pain.
‘I looked at my hand, it blew up and was bright red. It looked like it had been dunked in acid. At the hospital they asked if someone had poured acid on my hand.
‘My fingers swelled up, they had to cut off my rings, they’re still swollen today.
‘I didn’t look in the mirror until the hospital and the right side of my face bulged out so much that I looked like a Teletubby.
‘I’d been walking the dogs the day before so I think I must have come into contact with it there and then touched my face.
‘It was blistering. I was in a lot of pain,’ Ms Sabine said.
Tina Sabine, 28, said she ended up looking like a ‘Teletubby’
She suffered burns so severe that doctors thought her hand had been covered in acid
The giant hogweed caused her to suffer blistering on her hand
The graphic design student is still unable to use her right hand
The student was hospitalised after coming into contact with the toxic plant
The student said she ended up looking like a ‘Teletubby’
The poisonous plant left Tina Sabine with severe injuries
Tina Sabine, 28, brushed up against the giant hogweed while walking her dogs
Tina Sabine had been walking her dogs Mocha and Latte
WHAT IS GIANT HOGWEED?
Giant hogweed is a toxic plant that is able to cause severe burns if touched.
The invasive species is native to western Asia but is now commonly found in Britain.
The plant was first introduced to the UK in 1817 before it spread out of control.
It has come to be known as Britain’s ‘most dangerous plant’ due to effects of its sap.
Chemicals in the sap can cause photodermatitis or photosensitivity, where the skin becomes very sensitive to sunlight and may suffer blistering.
Giant hogweed is a poisonous weed that has come to be known as Britain’s ‘most dangerous plant’.
The invasive species, that is native to western Asia, can grow to heights of 16 feet and causes severe burns on being touched.
Chemicals in the sap can cause photodermatitis or photosensitivity, where the skin becomes very sensitive to sunlight and may suffer blistering, pigmentation and long-lasting scars.
After coming into contact with the toxic plant, Ms Sabine was forced to take pain medication and dress her injuries on a daily basis.
She says she’d had such a bad reaction to the plant that it caused a blood clot on her spine and walking became agony.
Ms Sabine said: ‘I wasn’t really conscious the first few days, they were putting cream on it and making sure I wasn’t in pain and waiting to see if I got better.
‘I was in hospital for over a month. I still can’t use my right hand today. I started feeling better after about two weeks.
‘I’ve been back to the place where I suspect I came into contact with the hogweed and it’s still there. It’s scary to think that there are kids out playing and could touch it.
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