A Maine mother’s warning against a toxic plant has gone viral, even garnering media coverage across the ocean in the United Kingdom.
Audrey Cain created a Facebook post in July of 2023 about her toddler daughter Ella’s unfortunate experience with wild parsnip, a tall, stemmy plant with delicate yellow flowers.
“I wanted to share this to make others aware especially those with kids,” she wrote.
“Ella has been breaking out in what we thought was poison ivy but it has been discovered it’s coming from this flower-like plant called wild parsnip.
“We have these plants all over our entire property and never knew that these contain a sap that gives you a severe burn.”
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Cain’s said Ella’s legs “are now totally scarred from it and we’re hoping her face doesn’t do the same along with her very swollen hand.”
The concerned mother added: “DO NOT let your kids touch these so they don’t have to go through what Ella’s going through.”
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The story was picked up by U.K. news outlets The Sun and The Daily Mail.
Ella, then two years old, touched the stem of one of the plants and sniffed the flowers while playing in the family’s backyard in Vassalboro, the Sun reported.
“She never picked them, she just smelled one, then she just touched the stems. We didn’t think anything of it,” she told The Sun.
The next morning, Ella had blisters on her skin.
Audrey thought it was poison ivy and applied chamomile lotion.
She grew worried when the small blisters became large burns across the girl’s arms, legs and face.
Audrey did some research and discovered the wild parsnip plant contains a toxic sap that can cause phytophotodermatitis, which prevents the skin from being able to protect against the sun, leading to extensive burns when exposed to the sun’s rays.
“It was heartbreaking seeing her in so much pain with these burns all over her,” Audrey said.
They ended up having to keep Ella’s skin covered and had her play in shaded areas the rest of the summer.
“I was worried she would be scarred for life, but I think using vitamin E oil when she was in the healing stages really helped because she doesn’t have any scarring.”
