Severe chemical burns, blisters: watch out for wild parsnip
If you have never heard of wild parsnip before, you might want to watch your step – that’s the message from Lumsden’s Kelly Strickland after getting severe blisters and burns on his feet.
Strickland said he had never heard of the tall yellow weed until last Thursday when he landed in the hospital after stepping in some.
“I walked out there probably about 10 feet and had flip flops on and didn’t think anything of it. Then, like five hours later, my feet started getting hot and irritated so I thought I had heat rash,” Strickland told 980 CJME in a phone interview. “Then they started swelling up and blistering so I went to the hospital and yeah, that’s what they said it most likely was.”
Wild parsnip is classified as an invasive species and designated as a noxious weed by the province. While the root of the plant is technically edible, the sap from the stem, leaves and flowers increases skin’s sensitivity to ultraviolet light which can lead to severe second-degree or chemical burns, blisters, rashes and dermatitis.