Here is a picture of the aloe and it fluid

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:470169}}

This is the thin leaf that I cut

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:470173}}

And here is the plant itself.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:470176}}

I've never noticed a smell, noisome or otherwise, but that looks about normal to me, if a bit heavy on the liquid side. Aloes' efficacious properties come from both the liquid and the gel-like material inside the leaf. You might have an Aloe vera variant that has an extra-juice factor, but Aloe leaves, the larger they are, the more they'll bleed.

stop cutting it! :)

It's just the latex that resides under the skin, it's know to be an irritant.

If you water more, the leaves should plump up with more of the good stuff.

Thanks for the feedback.

What about the older leaves getting very thin? Is that due to under watering? I've been watering about once a month because of winter. I lost on aloe once to too much water. I'm scared to water it much in the winter now. lol

It's my understanding that if the plnt is underwatered, the sap will be very thick and will develop a strong odor. This is hearsay, not my direct experience - I tend to overwater this aloe!

Really it is quiet normal for the species, some bleed red like we do. Wait until the leaves dry up, then remove or let them drop off. If cut too soon, all sorts of diseases can get in. Use clean disinfected tools to do the surgery, and seal up the wound. They are dorment this time of the year and will start to grow again ABOUT April l
it will offset young ones all around the base. Just leave the plant alone until you see growth of these pubs. Norma

Hello,I was wondering if maybe your aloes froze a little over the winter. I also own two sick aloes. I noticed a fungus in the aloe garden that looked like throw up. My garden has mulch and was not getting enough sunlight because of the tree hovering over it. i finally trimmed the tree and no more fungus. Anyway my husband tried washing the fungus out and there were so many spores it looked like it was smoking as he was washing it off. I am thinking my aloes got sick when he did this.

If what you have was the dog vomit fungus, I don't think it is supposed to be hazardous to plant life. I had some growing by one of my tomatoes and it didn't do any harm to that plant.

Here's some info on it

Here is a link that might be useful: dog vomit fungus

Aloe sap is used in Hawaii to treat sunburns. It's smelly, thick, and that's normal for this plant. There is variance among the different Aloe species though.

Also, since no one else has said anything yet, please disregard the first line of advice from moksha. I believe her comment is in error. It sounds like she has confused things with the Euphorbia family.

I do agree w/ CC posting directly above who cautions:

"It's just the latex that resides under the skin, it's know to be an irritant. " by Moksha

Yes, that does seem incorrect & also does sound like a reference to Euphorbias.

Aloes are a known skin healer & Euphorbias are known to SOMETIMES be a skin irritant. I'd suggest it's important not to confuse the two.

(Good catch CuriousComputer, thanks!)

Actually, Moksha is right. Aloe latex is the sap just below the surface of the leaves, while the aloe gel is the center part. The latex is an irritant and has been used as a laxative. I imagine general handling doesn't pose much of a risk, but it's worth taking some care, especially if you have sensitive skin.

Aloe vera induced oral mucositis

CC and PG, moksha's comment is absolutely correct. There is no confusion with Euphorbias. It is the two of you who are confused, and posting incorrect information.

Aloe vera contains two kinds of 'sap' that are used medicinally. The thick yellow sap that comes from the inner lining of the leaf is called Aloe latex, and contains aloin, a powerful laxative. It flows for a little while after cutting a leaf, and can be scraped off the leaf epidermis. It is also called Aloe juice. The laxative effect of aloin is primary reason why the desert Bedouin people of Arabia cultivated Aloe vera. It has been in cultivation so long that there is no known natural population of the plant.

The second kind of sap is called Aloe gel, and is contained in clear tissue of the inner leaf. This is the part of the plant that is soothing to skin. Aloe gel and Aloe latex are two different things. Aloin was used in various products until 2003, when the FDA banned its use in over the counter products because it may be carcinogenic.

Again, Aloes contain two different kinds of 'sap', aloe latex and aloe gel, and these contain different compounds that are used in different ways.

Brad

Well then thanks Moksha, Citosa & Para. It's my lesson for the day; I apologize for my ignorance on this & thanks for the correction & info.

(PG) Karen

Karen you do just fine, Brad you did a great job, and I am going to keep your post if that is okay with you. Any one here remembers the one that bleeds red. Aloe drako?
PART OF THIS IS OFF TOPIC AT THE BOTTOM----
Aloe vera is used in cosmetics, medicine, to heal skin scrapes. I use it for burns. I did look up the information and found quiet a bit in several places, there is no documention that I can find yet, and if any one knows where it is I would like this information please. This plant and has been around for several thousands of years and used for several different purposes. The experts still can't trace where it came from origanally, location data is a mystery.
Aloe polyphylla dried leaves are put in water and cooked to obtain a purple die, I have only seen the dried leaves produce this color I never found it in a fresh cut leaf. While young it is very easy to propagate. I'm sorry that I'm off topic but some members may be interested. Norma

Norma,

Aloe rubrovilacea and/or A. pseudorubroviolacea have a staining-to-Tshirt-type purple sap.

ok let me add my 2 cents i have a very old aloe vera and it does bleed red next to the mama plant now you go to the top where the new growth is about two leave sections down and you will find the gel so who know what i have but i know my granny had it now i had it for around 30 years or so. when i saw it "bleed red" i thought oh my its granny! I was a kid then

good luck all
j'b's

Jeff I mean blood red/or Pigeon blood red/like a fine Ruby. I will look up the names you gave me however. There is a huge plant with seeds in front on my daughter apartment. This is now a huge tree with many branches. Thanks Jeff

That should have been 'Aloe rubroviolacea'.

And now I know what you meant what you posted in the other post.

Hello,
I'm going to have to read up on this issue of Aloe sap/latex/gel a little more....

But it's a good learning point! Thank you all who have provided input. :)

-Curiouscomputer

This is not Aloe Vera!! It is Aloe Rubroviolacea. Be careful. Not all aloes are safe to use.

I have this same plant. I accidentally broke off a couple of stems and yellow gel came out with a strong odor. Mexicoaloes, does aloe vera not produce yellow gel? What is the difference between the two? Thanks.

Here is a photo of my plant.

Aloe Vera bleeds yellow and sometimes clear and doesn't smell bad. Looks like that's what you have. Aloe Rubroviolacea bleeds purple and smells bad. It stains which is why it is useful as a dye. After about an hour the smell is a bit better but whoa it smells like something dead at first.

Any cactus, is meant to survive in hot weather and less water, so it naturally stores water and minerals in gel form. when it is over watered or kept in cooler temperature it has no trigger to save gel. If cactuses are watered too much they die.

Also refer http://www.aloeplant.info/aloe-vera-plant-care-advice-for-winter/

Where ever aloe vera yellow bleed is touched in fabric, its stain are not being removed. I have tried several method which I generally use for stain removing. Advise requested. Thanks

This particular aloe is not vera but rubroviolacia and bleeds yellow and stains purple. It is used as a dye in countries where it grows naturally like Mexico. I doubt you will ever get the colour out. If you think you like the colour my only suggestion would be to put it all over the fabric. If it's just a t shirt should do fine, if it's fancier wear you might as well replace it because the stain won't be coming out anytime soon.

PS In areas in Mexico like the State of Oaxaca where there are a lot of scorpions people use the aloe dye (purple) around the bottom of doors as it apparently deters them. I thought this was an interesting factoid.

One more comment. . . I used to think there was only one kind of aloe and that was aloe vera. It has a fab healing gel that comes out usually in a clear slightly yellow colour and it smells okay. Great for burns, cosmetics etc.

I have been visiting a town in Oaxaca Mex for a number of years and had what I thought was Vera in my garden. . .until I broke off a piece and thought I was holding rotten meat (sorry) and the gel was thick yellow and turned purple as it dried. It may irritate the skin too but I wasn't going to try it.

After doing some internet searches I discovered much to my delight that there are many different varieties mine being one of them.

Those of you who are cactus aficionados are probably rolling your eyes but for those who are casual gardeners I hope this is helpful. Not my process, just the info.

Brittany, what kind of soil is that?

Is is sand? If so, not good. Pls read up here on mixes for cactus & succulents, 'cause what you're using seems to be trouble.

At the very least, pls. switch to Cactus & Succulent mix & Perlite mixed 50/50 or equal parts of each.

It is sand and rocks. When I got the plant it was in some smelly mud so I took it out and rinsed it off and then put it in the sand and rock mix because it was all I had.

If I mixed some dirt/soil that my grass grows in and some sand and rocks would that be better?

No, NO SAND. It's not suitable for a potted plant. Half of a cactus soil and half perlite is the least expensive and most accessible answer here. If you want to research 'gritty mix' here, use the search function and you'll have a week's worth of reading, but the suggestion I gave is likely the easiest.

No, no, no, no & no. No sand, no rocks. What you're suggesting will not help & will likely make things worse.

I assume you wish your plant to survive. You asked "how I can save this guy".

You have this plant, pls. do what I've suggested above, I was pretty clear.

Pls go to the store & buy these, I'll repeat.

"Cactus & Succulent mix & Perlite mixed 50/50 or equal parts of each"

Why do you think it's sick? What do you feel is wrong w/ it? Does the pot have a hole at the bottom.

Could you pls. back up, take a pic of the entire thing, pot & all & add something like a pencil on the pot to indicate its size.

So the yellow, stinky stuff is called aloe latex and if you are going to consume aloe for the health benefits you want to first drain the aloe latex. The smell is normal (kind of a horrible body oder sort of smell). The latex is a powerful laxative and can really irritate your intestines. Unless you are very constipated than you want to get rid of it before eating it. I start by washing the aloe after cutting it. Cut off the ends and top of the aloe branch. Let it first sit at a 45 degree angel for 30-45 minutes. Then let it soak it soak in some water for another 20-45 minutes. This will help extract the aloe latex and leave the aloe gel. There are plenty of YouTube videos that show how to filet an aloe branch to get the gel out. But that stinky yellow substance you're smelling is natural (and naturally smells bad), nothing wrong with your aloe at all!

It's the yellow aloe latex that's the laxative, you don't want too much. It's what bleeds out of the aloe when you first cut it off. The stuff that has the bad oder, the clear gel is what you typically eat/use. You really don't want much of the latex (yellow sap) cause it can irritate your intestines. A little will go a long way. So if you are not having bowel issues, drain it out (like the pictures I posted).

I'd just recommend not sticking the ends with the spikes in first cactus ;)

I have an aloe plant that someone gave me. It is getting a little out of control, starting to tilt and growing lots of new shoots. I accidently snapped two shoots so squeezed the gel out into a pot to make a serum. I decided to chop one of the big shoots as it was snapped half way and I know with other plants you should cut near the Base. But when I did this it started dripping the yellow stuff and was smelly. Is this dangerous to mix wit the other gel I've put into a pot? Also what am I supposed to do to get the plant back under control, how do I prune it etc? Thank you

Oh and I noticed on another comment someone said when you snap or cut one you should seal the wound as diseases can get in.. how do you do that?

Can you put it on your face when it oozes yellow and stinks ?