The irritant properties of urticating hair

[C_Strike]

My sincerest apologies, i did try search but i didnt know where to start...

I was curious what it is that makes urticating hairs irritate.. i am leaning more towards the structure is what causes the irritationas aposed to a chemical within.
Any1 able to fill me on this?
I was thinking this because my lovely T blondi shed ast night which i removed the exuvium. Woke up this morning and i have found my top half of my body covered in red blotches. i hve been using calomine lotion but unsure if there is any point.
TBH i will probably go and buy myself an aloe plant then rub the aloe juice over myself, but again will this help?
In the past i have found very little that aloe doesnt help.
Any help would be much appreciated

 

[ErikH]

It's structure, as far as I know. If you look under a microscope, urticating hairs are barbed like porcupine quills. There is no chemical component to the itching that I am aware of, just dozens and dozens of tiny barbed spines which pierce the skin and stick.

 

[mikeythefireman]

Hello Soul,

Everything I've read and researched indicates the structure is to blame for the urticating effects of the bristles. Since the red blotches are your immune system's response to this micro invasion, I would try a systemic anti-histamine/histamine blocker. My personal fav for minor reactions is Benadryl.

Mikey

 

[bananaman]

I find it funny how people now start by apologizing and saying they did use the "search" function... thanks to all the "friendly" people who agressively answer to do so... it shouldnt be like that...

Soul: as the others said, the itch comes from mechanical injury... no chemicals... I've had some itching, though not a lot, I find that rub on anesthetic creams works best, you cant get them out, you just have to wait... and since the itch isnt from chemicals, the redness wont go away until the bristles do...

I once inhaled B.vagans urticating bristles... it sucked big time, be careful... I couldnt speak, eat, drink or smoke without feeling horrible pain in my throat for like a week... I am MUCH more careful now...

 

[king7]

ppl say they have used sticky tape to remove the barbed hairs.i couldnt tell you if it works but its worth a try.

 

[Taceas]

I have never experienced the urticating hairs on T's as I don't handle mine, and my terrestrials haven't molted since I've had them. I'm sure I'll experience it at some point.

However, I think its pretty much been proved that Calamine lotion is useless. Aside from proclaiming to the world "I have itchies, stay away!" because of your neon colored dots all over.

I find the Extra Strength Benedryl cream to work wonders on anything that causes an itchy allergic reaction. Skeeter bites, chiggers, poison ivy/oak, bee stings, hives, etc. Just dab it on and rub it in. But if too much of your body is covered in the itchy hairs, I would recommend you take the pills, as it'd be a pain to spread the cream all over your body.

Oh, and next time....use tweezers to remove the shed, use latex gloves for examining it, and always wash up afterwards.

 

[C_Strike]

Oh, and next time....use tweezers to remove the shed, use latex gloves for examining it, and always wash up afterwards.

hehe yep, your right but i thought it would be ok since i havent had a prob wiv any of my others or infact this 1 before but shes around 7-8" now and i guess has a larger amount of, and probably larger hairs.
Cheers for the advice, much appreciated, i got sum perscription anti-histemines to take, and for future needs... hopefully not tho

 

[Thoth]

Its mechanical effects. I've gotten the same (actually worse) itching from handling fiberglass insulation with out proper protection.

Antihistamines are good for dealing with possible allergic reactions to the hairs but not too effective with mechanical dermatitis (what happens with exposure to the hairs). So don't be suprised if it does not work too well, but on average they work well.

What calamine is good for is short-term relief, not a cure nor effective over the long term. Also useful for short term relief are creams that contain benzocaine or lidocaine.

Something interesting about tiny spine removal might be applicable to urticating hairs

Martinez TT, Jerome M, Barry RC, Jaeger R, Xander JG. Removal of cactus spines from the skin: A comparative evaluation of several methods. Am J Dis Child 1987; 141:1291-1292.

The removal of very fine cactus spines from the skin is particularly distressing for the pediatric patient. We describe two typical patients and a study in experimental animals comparing the effectiveness of several previously described methods for removal. The most effective method involved using tweezers to remove clumps of spines followed by a thin layer of glue covered with gauze, which was allowed to dry and then peeled off to remove individual spines. Attempts to use adhesive tape or a thin layer of a commercial facial mask to aid in removal of the spines produced more retention and inflammation three days after removal than no treatment.