Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion General Message Board for Ankylosing Spondylitis and Related Diseases Wild Parsnip Sensitivity? Doxycycline/Cimzia/AS

Hello,
There are probably gonna only be a few of you who have ever heard of Wild Parsnip, but it is common in Midwest and NE, looks like Mustard or Queen Anne's Lace, common roadside plant. I have AS and get the blisters from it which can be very terrible and cause scarring and spread and itch similar to poison oak but not a rash, a bubbling blister. However, and this is why I am posting, there seems to be some connection with my sensitivity to it and my AS. I know that many of you suffer from allergies of all kinds, but just wondering if anyone here has ever had it. Last time I took doxycycline for it, but this time I am just starting cimzia and not sure how that is all gonna shake out. Any thoughts welcome!
Thanks!!!

wild parsnip and some weeds e.g. giant hogweed cause blistering

how do you mean it seems connected to AS, contact with the plant makes your AS worse? or you seem more sensitive to it because you have AS?

Thanks for asking. Sorry I didn't clarify. So sixteen people walked through a field weeding, with me. We all wore the same protective clothes. But I am the only one who got it, and no on else did though I was meticulously careful, I am very good at IDing this and hogweed and QA lace. It spreads like wildfire on me like poison oak, all over my body but doctors say it can't or shouldn't do that. I get it even if I don't come in contact with the plant through photo action. So I feel there must be an AS component to my sensitivity. And all the drugs that seem to cure normal people of the burns and blister such as steroids and benadryl do not work on me. The only thing that works is Doxycyline, which I am on day three of and already healing up. I only bring this up because I am wondering if any other AS folk have experienced this. OR! Like the doctor in the hospital said who treated me the other day, "maybe you are just unlucky?" Funny, after having it as often as I get it (8 times)! Very scientific.

I had never heard of wild parsnip, had to google it. Interesting that it is literally a burn brought on by UV exposure after getting the juice on your skin.

Is it possible you may have gotten the juice on your skin when removing the protective clothing? I have been known to get a poison ivy rash from touching the clothing of someone who had been working around poison ivy, and even from petting a cat after it had brushed past poison ivy.

I'm betting you are fair-skinned. The article I read said fair-skinned people can be extra-sensitive to tiny amounts of juice. (Fair-skinned people have more skin problems in general.)
http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/html/stories/1999/jun99/parsnip.htm

Doxycycline is often used for acne and for rosacea (which I have) so I'm not surprised that it helps you. Even though it's an antibiotic, it has a known anti-inflammatory effect.