Infants Higher risk due to herbal poisoning

Toddlers are at risk of accidentally taking poisonous flowers, seeds or fruits, especially in the fall. This is shown in a new BfR brochure. It describes u.a. Poisoning cases with Blue Iron Hat, Angel Trumpet and the Ricinus Seed of the Wunderbaum.

Poisoning by plants can be very lethal. Picture: S.Kobold - fotolia

In general, although most poisoning reports are due to the handling of chemical products, around 10% of cases are caused by poisonous plants or fungi.

The booklet outlines cases related to three of the most poisonous garden plants: Blue Iron Hat, Angel Trumpet and Miraculous Tree (Ricinus). All parts of the Blue Eisenhut contain Aconitin, which is more toxic than Strychnine. For adults, about two to six milligrams of pure aconitin is already deadly. It often comes to poisoning, because the tuber of Eisenhuts is confused with celery or horseradish roots. The leaves also end up in salads, out of ignorance or in confusion with parsley.

In the angel trumpet, all parts are also poisonous. In the case of poisoning, the symptoms - especially confusion and loss of consciousness - can last up to two days.

One of the most poisonous garden plants is the miracle tree. His ricinus seeds are highly toxic. In children, the intake of three to five well chewed seeds is already fatal. Even the skin contact with the seeds can cause severe allergies.

In the brochure, the BfR describes in detail symptoms, course and therapy approaches for selected poisoning cases. It is available free of charge from the BfR and can be downloaded here. (Pm)