Sick teen complains of strange red mark on his arm – hours later his mom rushes him to ER

If the rise of social media has given birth to one thing positive, it’s that people can now share information at an unprecedented pace.

This also means that warnings over dangerous things can make their way around the world within a day, making us – in theory at least – a little safer.

Well, there’s one such warning being issued by a mom whose son developed a strange red grid-like mark on his skin after collecting some tree branches.

A little while later, and he was being rushed to the ER. Now, Andrea Pergola wants everyone to know something that could potentially save lives …

When Andrea’s 15-year-old son Logan was collecting tree branches as part of his volunteer work, he felt a momentary sharp pain when something stung him.

Within minutes, a red grid-like mark had appeared on his arm, and before long it had become a full-blown rash.

Said rash spread up his arm to his chest, and the area soon burned with an unbearable pain.

Accompanying these symptoms, Logan experienced dizziness and grew pale. His mom washed the area and rubbed garlic on it in an attempt to pull the venom out (this can often work with bug stings). She was left stumped, however, when nothing worked.

Eventually it was Logan’s grandfather who located the bug. He donned thick gloves, placed it in a baggie and examined it closer.

It was a caterpillar, one both “cute” and fuzzy. It also transpired to be one of the most poisonous caterpillars in all of North America.

After conducting some research online, Andrea realized she had to get Logan to the ER, and fast.

“Please research this caterpillar, be aware of it and make your kids aware of it,” Andrea wrote on Facebook.

“It is not native to Florida, but to Texas, and just happens to live here now. Please if you are stung or your kid is stung get to the ER and let them treat you. I can assure you — we didn’t realize he had been stung so many times and normal over-the-counter Benadryl would not have treated this at home.”

Watch more on Logan’s ordeal – and his mom’s subsequent warning – below:

Wow, I certainly didn’t know that a caterpillar that could be found in your yard could be so dangerous.

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