Expert: Greg Simpson - 12/18/2007

Question
What happens if you get cactus milk in your eye.  I think it happened to me and my eyes burned and was swollen for two days.  Could this have been the cactus juice from a milk cactus (cathedral cactus)

Answer
Scott,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. What you have is not a cactus, but a Euphorbia. Euphorbias are very similar to cacti, but come from Africa, where as cacti only come from the Americas. The "milk" you speak of is called latex and is an irritant, which keeps animals from eating it. If you haven't seen a doctor, you may want to. If everything has cleared up, you should be OK. Just make sure to wear eye protection next time you work with your plant.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Greg