Has anyone ever had an allergic reaction to feather reed grass? We have it planted in our yard, and my son was playing with one of the stalks. He "tickled" my neck/ear area last Friday with the stalk, and the next day (Saturday) my ear broke out with a puffy, itchy, red, bumpy rash. Two days later I still have the rash on my ear and it has started flaring up on my neck! Has anyone ever heard of this? I do not normally have allergies to plants (like hay fever/pollen allergies). I have broken out with a bad rash many years ago to poison ivy. I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to get some relief. I've used some benedryl gel, but it does not seem to be helping. Any ideas or help is greatly appreciated!
In this study, 11% of their test subjects had an contact allergic response to at least 1 of 6 common grasses species they tested against -- so it's not unheard of.