GRAPHIC PICTURES - Schoolgirl suffers shocking third degree burns after using giant hogweed to build a den - GRAPHIC PICTURES

WARNING: GRAPHIC PICTURES


Schoolgirl suffers shocking third degree burns after using giant hogweed to build a den



A schoolgirl suffered horrific third degree burns from a giant hogweed while on a fishing trip with her dad.

Lauren Fuller, aged ten, wound up in hospital after using part of the poisonous plant to build a den near Loch Lomond in Scotland.

She was left in agony with bright red burns on her hands and cheeks.

But when Lauren's parents took her to hospital, they were initially told it was just sunburn.

Lauren may need skin grafts to repair the damage and her parents Russell and Charlotte are warning other parents of the danger the plant can pose.



Construction worker Russell, 32, said: "She was absolutely fine on the Sunday - she thought nothing of it.

"But on the Monday her hands were red raw and by the Tuesday she had big blisters. It was really, really bad.

"They put these little gloves on her to cover the blisters and when they took them off a couple of hours later her skin had completely melted.



"Lauren is a tough little cookie but she was crying a lot. She was in a lot of pain and she was really worried about what was going to happen to her hands.

"I want other people to know that this plant is out there and to be aware of how dangerous it is.

"What happened to Lauren was terrifying and I would honestly really hate for any other parent to go through what Charlotte and I have gone through.


Poisonous: Giant Hogweed


"We had no idea what was going on and the hospital didn't either.

"We had to use Google to diagnose Lauren's symptoms ourselves and the specialist said she hadn't seen anything like it for 20 years.

"I was so incredibly worried about what was going to happen"


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/schoolgirl-suffers-shocking-third-degree-6056955

It's terrible stuff.   You only get the burns like that if you touch it and then get the sun on it.   It amazes me that the hospital didn't know about it, there have been warnings for more years than I care to remember!

Poor little tike
My mom was so great about taking all of us out into the pasture & woods ; teaching/showing us the hazardous & poisonous plants & vines :oak, ivy, stinging needle, blister weed, thistles, elephant eared cactus, poke sally plant and pretty purple berry, bad mushrooms etc., etc., etc. What was safe to eat: sheep shower, pepper grass, dandy lion, what wild berries, morel mushrooms - we were taught what were safe snakes and what were the identifiers for the regional poisonous snakes.
IMO - parents just need to get outside with their children more:  start at an early age and keep the nature lesson going!

Shame is that these days so many parents wouldn't know what was poisonous and what wasn't.   Had to warn a mum the other days that laburnam seeds are poison.   They look so pretty.

My thanks to you 4ever as that is exactly what I thought! Even I will admit, I'm not actually well-read on poisonous plants and kind of adopt the "don't touch anything without mummy's say so" approach.

When I moved here last year we moved to a house with a little forest at the back and I often go walking there with my 4 and half year old daughter. Within a week, at only three and half (last year), she knew what a 'landmark' was, what makes a good landmark and also about the sun being on your right or left whilst walking etc.
She can lead me through that woods now, using our landmarks and my love of naming everything "open plains", "tunnel of trees", "rickety bridge" , "roundabout tree" and "bump and stump" - so she has her own little map of where she's going.  I don't plan on leaving her there obviously lol, but if I did, she'd find her way back.

See, being a 'pro-active' parent just takes the time and visual to walk the area's that will be what is going to entice a curious child to go look/explore/taste/handle and the continual teaching and weekly nature walks only embed those nature lessons so by the time the 5 year old can start telling the instructor the identifiers for Plants/fungus/berries/trees/vines/frogs/lizards/snakes/snails ...you've given them the foundation for LIFE and helped keep them safe while they're out there playing with the best that nature has to offer!
I can't think of a better way to spend a couple of hours and getting any child out of the house and into the fresh air as well.  Double pay back! 

VILE plant...every year there are happenings like this...its about time folks took the time to "educate" themselves and their offspring about whats "out there" Whilst we are in general blessed with a relatively benign environment compared to most other places, we do have a number of dangers......this being one.

(of course, you would know it...its an IMMIGRANT )

4EVER2 wrote:See, being a 'pro-active' parent just takes the time and visual to walk the area's that will be what is going to entice a curious child to go look/explore/taste/handle and the continual teaching and weekly nature walks only embed those nature lessons so by the time the 5 year old can start telling the instructor the identifiers for Plants/fungus/berries/trees/vines/frogs/lizards/snakes/snails ...you've given them the foundation for LIFE and helped keep them safe while they're out there playing with the best that nature has to offer!
I can't think of a better way to spend a couple of hours and getting any child out of the house and into the fresh air as well.  Double pay back! 

We think alike on these issues. It's a very valuable life lesson - as valuable as learning to write.