By Dominic Abassi

Venomous caterpillar sends Nanaimo infant to ER

Jun 5, 2018 | 2:38 PM

NANAIMO — Krystal Dawn Pavan watched her children play with cute, furry caterpillars countless times. Not once did she think the seemingly innocuous insect would be responsible for a panicked ambulance ride to Victoria.

Now, the Nanaimo mother is hoping to spread a word of caution to other parents after her eight-month-old daughter required an emergency procedure to remove venomous hairs fused to her cheeks and gums.

Pavan told NanaimoNewsNOW her children were playing on her deck in Nanaimo’s Brickyard neighbourhood on May 31 when her daughter suddenly became hysterical.

“She instantly started crying and screaming and was basically inconsolable…While she was crying she opened up her mouth and I saw inside and I was so confused at what I was looking at.”

What Pavan saw were black marks, resembling an electrical burn, that wouldn’t wipe off.

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She rushed to Nanaimo Hospital where nurses pondered the curious marks in the child’s mouth. One nurse mentioned an incident where her own child had a similar reaction from sucking on a caterpillar.

When Pavan mentioned her deck was covered in caterpillars, the doctor quickly diagnosed the insect as the cause of her daughter’s misery.

Pavan was whisked by ambulance to Victoria, where her daughter was prepared for the procedure.

“I was panicked,” she said, adding her infant required a breathing tube and needed to be sedated.

“They basically had to put her under because trying to get a foreign object out of a baby’s mouth is obviously really difficult…It took about an hour they said to remove all the pieces, it was a very hard task for them.”

Despite some swelling and soreness in her face, Pavan said her daughter recovered well from the ordeal.

She was told a Silver Spotted Tiger Moth caterpillar was to blame. The orange, wooly-bear-type insect is very common to Nanaimo and Vancouver Island. Its venomous, stinging hairs can cause a burning sensation and rash when touched, particularly for people with sensitive skin.

Pavan said nurses and doctors were fascinated by what they saw, taking pictures to use as educational material.

In a posting about the species of caterpillar, the website BugGuide said “Look, but don’t touch!”

“Keep an eye out on what your kids are playing with. Caterpillars weren’t on my radar before but they’re definitely something I’ll be watching out for from now on,” Pavan said.

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi