Keep your kids safe from toxic plants

Poisonous Plants

There have been warnings on the news lately about the dangers of Easter Lilies being toxic to cats. Lilies can be toxic for young kids as well. It is not uncommon for me to get calls from parents whose young kids decided to nibble on some house plants, so those news stories are a good reminder for all of us that we need to be in the know about plants that our kids come into contact with. In most of the cases of these plant eaters, the kids aren’t showing any obvious signs that there was an issue. Typically if someone eats something that is toxic, and there is cause for concern, you would expect vomiting, diarrhea, a rash or fussing. To be on the safe side, the best course of action if you know your child has eaten something you aren’t sure about is to check in with the poison control center. In California that number is 1-800-222-1222 The Poison Control Centers here in the United States report that they get over 100,000 annual calls about plant or mushroom exposure annually. Knowing what plant your child actually came in contact with is very helpful to them. Unfortunately most of the time all we know is that it has leaves and is green. I would place a bet that many of us can't actually identify the plants we have in our homes and yards, and therefore have no idea about whether or not they are a potential hazard. It is a good idea to become familiar with the plants you have in and around your house and garden. Different plants will cause a variety of symptoms. Just like a sensitivity to food, not all kids will be equally reactive to an exposure. Reactions can range from mild vomiting and stomach cramps to more severe seizures and heart irregularities.Some plants can be deadly. Mushrooms are the biggest culprits Some plants will cause irritation just by coming in contact with them. Locally the most common culprit for that is poison oak. Some succulents and cacti aren’t poisonous but can cause a wicked scratch from getting too close to their spikes Step one is to teach your children not to put any part of a plant in the mouth (yeah, good luck with that…..) This means leaves, stems, bark, seeds, nuts, berries, and bulbs. Do not allow children to suck nectar from flowers or make "tea" from the leaves. Never chew, or let children chew on jewelry made from seeds or beans. Unfortunately kids will chew or eat things regardless of how they taste or the level of disgustingness. Depending on the plant, eating a tiny amount might not be an issue, but large or repeated doses can be harmful. I know it just about impossible to watch them every second, so it is important for you to be able to recognize plants that are more hazardous. If you have small children or curious pets, consider removing toxic plants. If you are attached to a plant that is on the list, perhaps lend it to a friend or neighbor until your little one is out of the "everything in the mouth" stage. In general, toxic or not, house plants should be placed out of reach of the very young. You also need to pay attention to falling leaves. If there are other houses or places that you frequent with your kids, make sure those plants are safe as well. If you are a gardener, make sure you store labeled bulbs and seeds in a safe place where your kids and pets don’t have access to them. Below is a list of some of the common house and garden plants with poisonous parts. Plants causing severe or fatal poisoning are marked *. Plants causing rashes are marked with°. Plants                                    Poisonous Parts African violet                                      Leaves Amaryllis-garden                                 Bulbs Azalea *                                              Leaves Castor bean                                        All parts Cherries *                                          Seeds and leaves Citrus fruits                                          Leaves Crown of thorns°                                 Milky sap Cyclamen*                                         Tuber Daffodil*                                            Bulbs Delphinium                                         Young plant, seeds Elephant ear*                                     All parts Figs°                                                  Milky sap Four o'clock*                                    Root, seeds Foxglove*                                         Leaves Holly-English                                     Berries Hyacinth*                                          Bulbs Hydrangea                                         Leaves Impatiens                                         Young stems, leaves Iris°                                                 Rhizomes Ivy-English, German, ground         Leaves, stems, berries Larkspur*                                         Young plants, seeds Laurel-Australian mountain                 All leaves Lily-of-the-Valley                                Leaves, flowers Lilies                                                  Bulbs Lupines                                             Leaves, pods, seeds Mistletoe*                                          Berries Narcissus*                                          Bulbs Oaks                                                  Acorns, foliage Oleander*                                         All parts Peaches                                             Seeds, leaves Philodendron                                     Stems, leaves Plums                                               Seeds, leaves Poinsettia*                                        Milky sap Potato-Irish                                     Green skin on tubers Primrose                                         Leaves, stem Rhododendron*                               Leaves Rhubarb*°                                       Leaves Sweet peas                                      Stem Tomato                                           Green foliage Tulip*                                             Bulbs Wisteria                                          Pods and seed Yew*                                              Foliage, bark, seeds Here is a list of : Safe and Poisonous Garden Plants Pets can also have different reactions to certain plants. The link below provides a list of plants that are toxic for your pets: https://www.humanesociety.org/sites/default/files/docs/poisonous-plants-to-pets.pdf I just inherited some lovely plants from my daughter since she has kitties. Be Safe!! .

There is no such thing as a silly question!

Let me tell you a story...



I was a nurse with a few years of experience under my belt when I moved to San Francisco. I was promptly hired at UCSF, which was, and remains in my experience, an excellent hospital. UC, because of its excellence, is a center where patients with many of the more exotic and hard to treat conditions are sent for care.

On one of my first days on the job I was getting report from a nurse; I don’t remember much about her and don’t know that I ever interacted with her again. She was passing along information about a patient who would be under my care for the upcoming shift. This little guy had an unusual illness with a long complicated name, no doubt named after the folks who discovered it. For the purposes of this post, and since I have long forgotten what it was, I will call it Hughie, Dewie and Louis disease. Here is the thing - this wasn’t something that I once knew and had forgotten. I had never, ever heard of it. Not even a glimmer of an idea.

“ So, Your patient X has HDL disease...These are his orders”

“Hold on a moment, What is HDL? I am not familiar with it.”

There was a pause and maybe a sneer

“You haven’t ever heard of HDL?”

I imagine that this was my opportunity to get a bit shame faced and say, "Oh! HDL, of course" and continue to get the report, but I don’t work that way. One of the things I respect the most in a person is to be comfortable with what they don’t know. Now, it is easier than ever to get educated. This was long before the days where I could pull out a phone and simply google it. This was now a game of poker. Some of you may not know, but Nurse Judy plays poker in Vegas.

“I have never, ever heard of it. Can you please tell me a bit about it so that I can take better care of the patient?"

She doubled down, I think she had come too far to save face and was hoping I would cave first.

“How long have you been a nurse? Where have you worked before this”?

“Is there anyone here who can tell me a bit about HDL?”

There was a resident sitting there who was happy to tell me all about this very rare condition. EVERYONE in the break room was hanging onto every word. Is it possible that no one had dared to ask? That was an isolated case at UC, but I carried the lesson along with me.

If I am talking to a parent and they are confused about a dose, a diagnosis or anything, the LAST thing I want is for someone to be embarrassed that they aren’t “getting it” and accept the information without clear understanding.

No one knows everything. As parents this is a good lesson to pass along to our children. Being comfortable enough to acknowledge what we don’t know and learning how to find the information we seek are important skills.