So I always get the white sap on my hands when doing air layers, due to removing leaves.  It's never really bothered my hands.  Last Saturday, I was doing an air layer in the center of a tree and fig sap had dripped in between my forearm and bicep.  I thought nothing of it.  I didn't wash it until about 2 hours later.  A few days later, I happened to notice what looked like bruising in that very spot.  I knew immediately what it was from, but had no idea how badly it had affected my skin.  I'm assuming this happened due to sensitive skin.  Strange how it never affected me on my hands very much.  This is 5 days later and I *think* it's getting a little better.  The deep red mark is painful only if I press on it.  Just something to think about if you are arms deep in a leaking fig tree!  ;)



   

I agree with Alan. Weird things happen to our body as we get older and get exposed to different foreign substances. Unfortunately, allergy is one of the resulting things. From the lightening of the redness in the picture, I think it is slowly healing as well.

Thanks for the input, guys.

Sorry that happened, Frank. I know the more sensitive areas of skin or membranes are greater affected by ficin, the protease (enzyme) in fig sap/latex that breaks down proteins. I know when I do air layers, the skin under my fingernails gets really raw as it is more sensitive than my hands. It stings and eventually subsides, but it is not a lot of fun after setting the air layers- even after rinsing them well. I have also heard that the tolerance to ficin deceases as exposure increases. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I know the sap didn't really bother me when I first started working with figs, but now it is really annoying with prolonged exposure.

I think you should get rid of all your fig trees being you are putting yourself in harms way. I will pay shipping for all your trees. Im a nice guy and want to help you out. ;-) lol. Most peps get burned sooner or later. It got me when i picked from a huge tree. Was moving branches out the way to get to figs in the inner branches. Very itchy

Thanks Bill.  Yes, it certainly does get annoying but I guess it could be worse.

Richie - That would solve all my fig problems!  haha.  I think I will find a way to deal with it though.  ;)

Tanks for the warning Frank ,i will pay more attention

I have the same thing happen with poison ivy and fire ant bites. I get nothing on my hands or other skin areas that gets more exposure to the sun and wind. But on the inside of my arms and other tender areas I get an reaction. I get the rashes and small blisters from the any bites. It does seem to take a day or two to show up too.


CliffH

It could have been worse Frank, if you had been out in the sun longer or it was much hotter it could have caused blisters. There are chemicals in fig sap called furocoumarins which react with sunlight, the technical term is phytophotodermatitis. It does not bother my hands either but I've had plenty of small burns on my arms.

When I was living in Greece I got stung by a bee on my ribcage and the sting was left behind in my skin, as usual.
My Greek friend took a leaf from a fig tree and used the sticky sap end to pull out the sting. Where the sap touched the bump from the bite, it went redder but stopped hurting, like it had been anaesthetized.

So the sap has its uses LOL

You are right. I got stung on my finger a couple years ago and I immediately applied fig sap. The pain instantly went away.

hello
here find information from local newspaper on fig sap  problem occred in south of France last summer
The link is http://archives.varmatin.com/faits-divers/une-jeune-vencoise-brulee-au-2e-degre-a-cause-de-feuilles-de-figuier.2220616.html
bernard