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Anna Dutka Not All Is Safe That Scents Nicely

Little do we realise how many plants which decorate our houses, gardens, and parks may cause less and more serious health issues under certain conditions. We don’t usually bother finding out what qualities different plants have until contact with them results in irritated skin, upset stomach, or, in more severe cases, vomiting or diarrhoeadiarrhoeadiarrhoea. It’s essential to implement some common sense prevention measurescommon sense prevention measures [common sense prevention measure]common sense prevention measures in order to stop children in particular from picking and eating, for example, the tasty looking berries of European yewEuropean yewEuropean yew.

Some plants are only toxic in certain situations and there is no need to remove them from our living space altogether. What’s more, we must remember that although our contact with those plants may not be pleasant, they still are essential parts of the ecosystems in which they grow and eradicatingeradicating [eradicate]eradicating them would most likely disturb the equilibriumdisturb the equilibriumdisturb the equilibrium in the environment. In the case of some plants, only certain parts of them are dangerous, such as leaves, seeds, stemsstems [stem]stems, or the sapsapsap, and they can be safely grown provided they are out of reach of children and animals. Just some examples of poisonous plants everybody knows are the flowers we all love, as they herald springherald springherald spring. The bulbsbulbs [bulb]bulbs of hyacinthshyacinths [hyacinth]hyacinths and daffodilsdaffodils [daffodil]daffodils if ingestedingested [ingest]ingested, cause serious digestive problemsdigestive problems [digestive problem]digestive problems in humans and animals. A case of livestocklivestocklivestock poisoning was noted in the Netherlands during the Second World War when the animals, due to shortages in other feed, were given the bulbs of these flowers. Lily of the valleylily of the valleyLily of the valley, another sweet‑scented spring flowersweet‑scented spring flowersweet‑scented spring flower, is highly toxic. As little as two leaves can turn out to be fatal if eaten by a small child. In the case of oleanderoleanderoleander, a common shrubshrubshrub found in parks and gardens, even one leaf can be deadly.

One could ask how people become poisoned by plants. After all, we don’t tend to pick random leaves and flowers and chew on them on our outdoor trips. It happens in the most unexpected ways. For example, people have died after eating meat which was skeweredskewered [skewer]skewered on oleander branches and then grilled. An unaware chef used oleander leaves to decorate some dishes that were served to the guests in his restaurant. The unfortunate ones who decided to consume them suffered from blurred visionsuffered from blurred vision [suffer from blurred vision]suffered from blurred vision, vomiting, low blood pressure, and confusionconfusionconfusion. Some fainted. All had to be taken to hospital. Cases are known of people who landed in hospitals having drunk water from glasses in which lilies of the valley had been kept. These flowers contain cardiac glycosidescardiac glycosides [cardiac glycoside]cardiac glycosides which can cause serious cardiac arrhythmiacardiac arrhythmiacardiac arrhythmia. Foxglovesfoxgloves [foxglove]Foxgloves, which look lovely and are so tempting to pick, have the same effect.

Prevention is paramountprevention is paramountPrevention is paramount and it all boils down toboils down to [boil down to]boils down to acquiring knowledge of your surroundings as well as teaching children certain behaviours which will keep them safe from an early age. As detrimental side‑effectsdetrimental side‑effects [detrimental side‑effect]detrimental side‑effects may occur not only after ingesting but also as a result of brushing againstbrushing against [brush against]brushing against some plants, make sure you wear long sleeves and long pants when going for walks in the countryside. Steer clear ofsteer clear ofSteer clear of certain plants, such as giant hogweedgiant hogweedgiant hogweed which, especially on hot days,  secrets sapsecretes sap [secrete sap]secrets sap which can cause lesionslesions [lesion]lesions and blistersblisters [blister]blisters even if you are at a distance from the plant. Teach kids not to eat or even put in their mouth any plant or parts of them that have not been approved by you. Make sure it’s the commandmentcommandmentcommandment they comply withcomply withcomply with at all times and not only in your presence.

If ingestion of a suspicious plant occurs, try to identify what species it was before rushing to the hospital. Getting information on how much and which parts of it were swallowed may help medical personnel make quick decisions about treatment. Under no circumstances should vomiting be induced as it may cause further damage to the oesophagusoesophagusoesophagus and mouth. If contact with a poisonous plant causes skin irritation, rinserinserinse it generously with soapy water. Wash any clothes that the plant was in contact with.

1 Źródło: Anna Dutka, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.