I pruned a ficus benjamina on Thursday. By the next day the intense itching came ... this goes on for about a week. Then small blisters and red rash comes and about 1 month later all goes away.
That's for me anyway. Never used to happen but then one day it just came. I use a lot of calamine lotion on it.
What makes it go nuts it's hot water and sunlight. It burns like acid, using soap makes it burn too so I use this stinky pinosol stuff.
And just yesterday I quoted another bloody ficus removal. Problem is you sweat and even where ever the sawdust gets ya it turns to a rash thing.
The actual name for this is Phytophotodermatitis.
This link has some useful info, and right down the bottom a list of a few plants that cause it.
http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic324.htm
This one here is good to, many plants down the bottom to watch out for.
http://www.telemedicine.org/botanica/bot5.htm