Thread: Gardeners: Potato Plant Allergy?!! HELP

Gardeners, talk to me about potato plant allergies. This season, every time I come out of my garden I am itching, aching, and wheezy--and this goes waaaay beyond hay fever symptoms, today I felt like I had been poisoned. Within 1 hour of working in the garden, my entire body was aching like I had a fever, I was woozy, and very very itchy.
I have never experienced symptoms like this.
Every year I grow 2 new crops in my large vegetable garden. This year my two new plants this season are onions (unlikely culprit) and potato (highly likely, being part of the nightshade family). Plus I keep touching my potatoes, they're "newer", I've grown leeks and stuff so the onions don't fascinate me as much, I pretty much just scan them for insects.
I have no problems with other nightshade plants like tomato & pepper but something is really working me over in the garden & that's all that I can think of. Help!
BTW my garden is all organic, no chemicals or artificial insecticides. I've been using the same things to amend my soil and feed my plants for years. and I live in Maine, where we have no poisonous insects or other biting things so I'm like 99% certain whatever is causing my symptoms is plant based

Can I ask how close your neighbor is? Could they be using something that is crossing over to your land?

I've also learned that you can become allergic to things that you have been around all your life or vice versa.("Grow" out of your allergy).

Have you introduced a new flower? Anything?

Called my nurseryman, and they did say that the leaves of tomatoes could irritate the skin.(Like Lantana's). When I handle my okra plants, I always put on one of my husbands old long sleeve shirts. They also mentioned bugs. If you are having severe reaction, they suggested calling poison control.?
You could experiment and only touch one thing for one day and see what happens,but I think I would feel better if you went to your doctor. Please be careful.

Oh and check to see if your amendments and other things you used haven't been changed. Sometimes company's change their "recipes".

Good suggestions Shenudance. My plan for today was actually to go out and just touch the potato and nothing else and see what happens--try to rule it in or out more specifically and take it from there. If The reactions continue--potato based or not I probably will contact my Dr for some type of allergy screening. grumble...