A pleasant summer afternoon turned into a nightmare after a three-year-old girl walked past a poisonous 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 poisonous sap from a harmless-looking plant.
Her mother, Audrey, believed the outbreak was a reaction to poison ivy and had no idea that the lotion she applied was far from what her daughter needed on that July day in 2023.
Little Ella, who doctors determined needed a steroid cream to treat the burns, had to stay indoors and protect herself from the sun, which causes inflammation that leads to lesions and burns.
The offending plant was the invasive wild parsnip, which grew uncontrollably on the family’s 113-hectare estate. It is widespread in the United States and is commonly seen in the northeastern and midwestern states, as well as southern Canada.
Little Ella, who doctors determined needed a steroid cream to treat the burns, had to stay indoors all summer and be protected from the sun.
Mrs Cain noticed the burns just a few hours after her daughter came into contact with the toxic sap
Ella, 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. Fields of it can extend for miles, although the exact extent of its distribution is difficult to determine because its distribution across countries is so widespread and varied.
The curious toddler smelled it and touched the stems. Her mother also believes that Ella’s leg was swept against the plant, given the blisters there and on her arms, cheek and nose.
Mrs Cain said: ‘We have that plant all over our property. We just thought it was some kind of flowering plant, we never knew it was anything dangerous… We didn’t think anything of it.
‘The next thing you know she’s had all these burns and they’ve been getting worse over the next few days, including all over her face.’
The blistering did not start immediately. The next morning they appeared.
Mrs. Cain woke her young daughter when she saw them and quickly applied a soothing lotion to reduce the inflammation in the skin and relieve the burning.
The curious toddler touched and smelled the stem of the wild parsnip plant, resulting in burns to her arms, face and legs
The invasive species grew unchecked on the 100-acre property
It took only a few hours for the blisters all over the girl’s body to become angry burns.
Doctors have 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.
She had to avoid the sun’s harmful rays at a time when they were strongest, wearing long sleeves all the time and playing in the shade.
Mrs Cain said: ‘The burns took up to two weeks to heal, and all the while she was saying how painful it was… It was heartbreaking to see her in so much pain with these burns all over her body.
‘I was worried she would be scarred for life, but I think using vitamin E oil during the healing phase really helped as she 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 the scarring
The wild parsnip plant is native to the Northeast and Midwest, often growing along roads and fields.
The plant can grow up to four meters high in one season. And with its bright yellow flowers, children may find them attractive.
Mrs Cain said: We live on 113 hectares of land so it would be impossible to get rid of them all, but we prune them away as much as we can and water the area.
“I’m sharing what happened so people are aware and can stay away from it.”