AlQa'dah 18, 1435, Sep 13, 2014, SPA -- They may look cute and fuzzy, but people are being warned not to touch the puss caterpillar, according to UPI. One two-year-old girl from Portsmouth, Va. learned that lesson the hard way when she went to the hospital after touching one of them. The mother of the little girl, Melissa Hicks said when she heard Chloe screaming she acted right away. "I had seen this caterpillar before on Facebook, so I panicked and said, we've got to go to the ER now, because at that time she was screaming bloody murder," Hicks said. She put the poisonous caterpillar in a container and quickly got her daughter to the hospital. According to Hicks, the poison spread quickly, "By the time I got to the emergency room, the rash had spread up her forearm and was heading up towards her shoulder." The puss caterpillar has toxic bristles underneath their fur which break off when they are touched, causing horrible pain. Bon Secours Internal Medicine Physician Dr. Elenor Kurtz said when someone touches the caterpillar they get an instant reaction where the person touched it. She also said they'll then get "a local reaction with some redness, swelling and you can see some spread up the arm sometimes. Usually following along the line of blood supply to the arm." Doctors were able to treat Chloe Motrin and Benadryl to help with the swelling. On Friday, she still had a mark on her hand where she had touched it. If you happen to touch a puss caterpillar there is an easy way to remove the spines. Doctors recommend using Scotch tape to pull out the broken spines in your skin. Doctors then say to wash the area with soap and water. Use Calamine lotion and put ice or bag of frozen peas on it to relieve the pain and stinging sensation.
