A pleasant summer afternoon turned into a nightmare after a three-year-old girl brushed against what turned out to be a toxic plant.
Ella Cain of Vassalboro, Maine, broke out in angry blisters and burns all over her body, including her arms, legs and face, after coming into contact with the toxic sap of a harmless-looking plant.
Her mother, Audrey, believed the outbreak was a reaction to poison ivy and had no idea that the lotion she was applying was far from what her daughter needed on that July day in 2023.
Little Ella, whose doctors determined she needed a steroid cream to treat the burns, was forced to stay indoors and covered from the sun, which causes inflammation that leads to injuries and burns.
The offending plant was the invasive wild parsnip, which was growing out of control on the family’s 113-acre property. It is widespread in the United States and is commonly seen in the northeastern and midwestern states, as well as southern Canada.
Little Ella, whose doctors determined she needed a steroid cream to treat the burns, had to stay indoors and covered from the sun all summer.
Mrs Cain noticed the burns just hours after her daughter came into contact with the toxic sap.
She, then two years old, was playing innocently in the family garden when she saw the wild parsnip plant.
Wild parsnip is common in backyards from Vermont to California and blooms from May to July. Its fields can extend for miles, although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact extent of its extent, because it is so widespread and varied in its distribution across the lands.
The curious boy smelled it and touched the stems. Her mother also believes that Ella’s leg grazed the plant, given the blisters there and on her arms, cheeks and nose.
Mrs Cain said: ‘We have that plant all over our property. We just thought they were some kind of flowering plant, we never knew it was something dangerous… We didn’t think about any of that.
“The next thing we knew, he had all these burns and they got progressively worse over the next few days, including all over his face.”
The blisters didn’t start right away. They showed up the next morning.
Mrs. Cain woke her young daughter when she saw them and hurriedly applied a soothing lotion to reduce skin inflammation and relieve the burning.
The curious girl touched the stem of the wild parsnip and smelled it, causing burns on her arms, face and legs.
The invasive species grew unchecked on the 100-acre property.
It only took a few hours for the blisters to turn into angry burns all over the girl’s body.
Doctors prescribed hydrocortisone cream, a topical steroid that reduces inflammation in the affected area, relieves itching and burning, speeds healing, and minimizes redness.
But the steroid wasn’t the end of Ella’s treatment.
He had to avoid the sun’s harmful rays at a time when they are strongest, wearing long sleeves all the time and playing in the shade.
Mrs Cain said: ‘The burns lasted up to two weeks before they healed, all the while she said how painful it was… It was heartbreaking to see her in so much pain with these burns all over her.
“I was worried that he would have scars for life, but I think using vitamin E oil when he was in the healing stages really helped because he has no scars.”
The burns required treatment with a topical steroid.
Mrs Cain said she also applied vitamin E oil to her daughter’s skin, which she said helped reduce scarring.
The wild parsnip plant is native to the Northeast and Midwest, often along roadsides and fields.
The plant can grow up to four feet in one season. And with their bright yellow flowers, children may find them attractive.
Mrs Cain said: We live on 113 acres of land so it would be impossible to get rid of them all, but we cut them back as much as we can and fumigate the area.
“I’m sharing what happened so people are aware of it and know to stay away from it.”