Woman Suffers Burns From Wild Parsnip
Plant Caused Second-Degree Burns
Updated: 8:24 pm CDT August 19, 2008
MT. HOREB, Wis. -- An invader on the Wisconsin prairie is causing problems in the area.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportWild Parsnip can burn people who come in contact with it, WISC-TV reported.Caroline More of Mt. Horeb learned the hard way. She thought she had gone for an innocent walk in the field. She now wants others to know what she's been through -- so it doesn't happen to them.More said this all started about two and a half weeks ago -- she had no idea she had walked through a patch of Wild Parsnip, until she started blistering.Wild Parsnip is an invasive plant, which causes phyto-photo-dermatitis -- meaning chemicals in the oil of the plant are energized by ultraviolet sunlight -- and can burn skin. In More's case, she suffered second-degree burns."Without any connecting knowledge, I started to itch the one sore," More said. "It then leached over to (my other) hand after I itched the sore, then in went to my finger. Unfortunately, then it went to my eyelid."More was treated with topical ointments and Prednisone. It's been two weeks but her burns are scars are still visible, WISC-TV reported.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportWild Parsnip can burn people who come in contact with it, WISC-TV reported.Caroline More of Mt. Horeb learned the hard way. She thought she had gone for an innocent walk in the field. She now wants others to know what she's been through -- so it doesn't happen to them.More said this all started about two and a half weeks ago -- she had no idea she had walked through a patch of Wild Parsnip, until she started blistering.Wild Parsnip is an invasive plant, which causes phyto-photo-dermatitis -- meaning chemicals in the oil of the plant are energized by ultraviolet sunlight -- and can burn skin. In More's case, she suffered second-degree burns."Without any connecting knowledge, I started to itch the one sore," More said. "It then leached over to (my other) hand after I itched the sore, then in went to my finger. Unfortunately, then it went to my eyelid."More was treated with topical ointments and Prednisone. It's been two weeks but her burns are scars are still visible, WISC-TV reported.Copyright 2008 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
