A mum has issued a warning to parents after her little girl suffered extreme facial burns after brushing against a flower.
Ella Cain was innocently playing in the garden when she smelled and tapped the stems of a plant with delicate yellow petals.
The next morning, her mom, Audrey Cain, woke up the two-year-old girl with tiny blisters bubbling on her skin.
Thinking she had fallen victim to poison ivy, the 27-year-old business owner dabbed chamomile cream on her marks to ease the itching.
But later that day, the blisters erupted into large, angry-looking burns all over little Ella’s body, including her arms, legs, cheeks and nose.
After looking up the plant online that had invaded the family’s property, Audrey realized it was a wild parsnip plant.
The plant can cause a skin disease also known as phytophotodermatitis.
The root of the plant – parsnip – is well eaten, but the plant above ground carries a toxic sap that prevents the skin from protecting itself from the sun’s rays and causes terrible burns when exposed to natural light.
The mum-of-four called doctors in a panic, who advised her to use hydrocortisone to soothe Ella’s burnt skin and to keep the baby out of sunlight.
After coming into contact with the plant, Ella was forced to wear long-sleeved clothes and play in the shade all summer.
Now fully recovered, Audrey shares her three-year-old’s experience to warn parents about a potentially toxic plant lurking in their gardens so they don’t have the same experience.
The plant is common throughout England, especially in the south and south-east and in Wales.
Audrey, from Vassalboro, Maine, USA, said: “It was heartbreaking to see her in so much pain with the burns all over her body.
“We have that plant all over our property. We thought it was some kind of flowering plant; we never knew it was dangerous.”
“She was in our backyard. She never picked them, just smelled one, then just touched the stems. We didn’t think anything of it.”
“The next thing you know, she’s got all these burns and they’ve gotten progressively worse over the next few days, including all over her face.
“She must have brushed against one too, because her leg also cracked.
“I thought she might have come into contact with poison ivy, but I looked around the yard and didn’t see any.
“Then I looked to see what those yellow plants were by our house and found out it was wild parsnip and that’s what’s causing it.”
The doctor advised Audrey to treat Ella’s burns with hydrocortisone cream and keep her out of sunlight to prevent the burns from getting worse after the incident in July last year.
Audrey said: “Ella said it was itchy and sore so we used chamomile cream, then switched to hydrocortisone. Then we used vitamin E oil to heal.
“The burns took up to two weeks to heal. She kept saying how much it hurt.”
“The doctors said she had to be careful not to go out in the sun for too long and stay covered for the rest of the summer.
I was afraid she would be scarred for life
Audrey Cain
“We kept her play area in the shade and covered her skin as much as possible.
“We live on 113 acres of land so it wouldn’t be possible to get rid of them all, but we trim them as much as we can and spray the area.
“I was worried she would be scarred for life, but I think using vitamin E oil while she was in the healing stage really helped because she has no scars.
“I’m sharing what happened just so people are aware of it and know to stay away from it.”
What is parsnip burn? And how do you prevent it?
Wild parsnip is a skin condition also known as phytophotodermatitis.
- Parsnip burn occurs when a chemical called furocoumarin reacts with sunlight
- This chemical is found in limes and citrus fruits, celery, figs, fennel and several other plants.
- Burns usually start as a rash that forms within 24 hours of exposure.
- People with a mild parsnip burn may never notice it, as the condition tends to heal on its own
- In worse cases, severe blisters can develop that can land you in the hospital
- Treatment varies depending on the severity
- Wash your hands thoroughly after handling citrus fruits, avoid touching other people when preparing food, and remember to cover up if you drink or eat outdoors during the summer months.