5 Year Old Girl Stung by Most Poisonous Caterpillar in the United States
Children are always getting into scrapes and seem to have an incredible knack for finding the most dangerous situation and wandering into it our of pure curiosity. One common fear is that a child will pick up something dangerous that they find interesting and stick it in their mouth, nose, or ear. Insects can often be included in this manner of childhood mischief. Unfortunately, while there are plenty of insects that a child could pick up and not come to harm, there are also incredibly dangerous insects that are even more enticing to children because of their bright colors or fuzzy-looking hair. One of these insects is the Southern flannel moth caterpillar, also referred to as the “furry puss” caterpillar because of the hair covering its body that can make it resemble a fluffy cat. Well, everyone (or almost everyone) likes fluffy cats, especially curious children that want to feel the soft-looking hair. Because of this, children often try to pet the caterpillars, discovering their mistake when they are stung by the poisonous spines that are hidden beneath its fluffy hair.
A five year old girl from Texas, Adrie Chambers, encountered a furry puss caterpillar while she was playing at her daycare last week. The daycare workers discovered Adrie after the encounter, immediately calling her mother Lauren Chambers when the girl began to experience swelling and an upset stomach. They believe that Adrie likely was stung by a caterpillar when one fell onto her from a tree and bit her on her arm. This little five year old girl was experiencing the effects of the most poisonous caterpillar in the whole country. These stings start out feeling like a bee sting, but the symptoms quickly get worse, causing pain so intense that you can feel it in your bones.
Adrie was quickly taken to the hospital and treated for the sting. The doctors from the hospital, however, credit the daycare workers with saving Adrie from experiencing even more pain from the sting when they used tape to try to remove the stingers from the affected area. “They said if that had not happened it could actually cause her whole body to go numb and start shutting down,” Lauren Chambers said. Thankfully, the little girl is now recovering just fine, and will live to get into plenty more scrapes, as is a child’s God-given right.
Has your child ever picked up or touched something or animal that it shouldn’t have and gotten hurt by the encounter?