Houseplants with gorgeous flowers are pleasing to the eye and improve the atmosphere in the house. But what seems like a harmless decoration to an adult can be dangerous for young children.
Which indoor plants are not suitable for a child’s room
Toddlers explore the world from different angles, so most items, including plants, are immediately tasted. This approach allows you to quickly understand what is tasty and what should be feared.
However, children do not understand the high risk of poisoning or injury, so leaving them unsupervised is not recommended. Is it always possible? It is enough to leave for a minute, and the baby, taking advantage of the moment, will certainly stretch the pen to the forbidden object.
Given this fact of development, the children’s room should be as safe as possible. In this article, we will highlight the window area, namely, what adorns our window sills in the house – indoor plants that are not only in the child’s room.
List of indoor plants that cause poisoning in children
Below is a list of toxic and poisonous, especially dangerous for children under the age of three.
- Hydrangea: contains substances that, if accidentally ingested, cause dizziness and nervous excitability.
- Begonia: Not all types of begonia are poisonous, however, you should not buy a plant when there are small children in the house. Poisoning is manifested by loose stools, vomiting and irritation of the mucous membranes.
- Coral bush: All components of this plant are classified as poisonous, but the fruits are the most dangerous for children. With mild poisoning, vomiting and nausea appear, in the worst case, respiratory failure.
- Primula obkonika: all parts of the plant are poisonous, normal contact under certain circumstances causes inflammation and irritation, when eaten, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain are possible.
- Cyclamen: The tuber and leaves of cyclamen are considered highly poisonous, however symptoms of poisoning usually occur after the tuber is consumed. Signs of poisoning are varied and are manifested by nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, sweating, and even convulsions.
- Azalea: after ingestion, it causes inflammation of the digestive tract, nausea and vomiting, sweating, impaired cardiac activity.
- Ficus: If swallowed, causes severe abdominal pain and vomiting.
- Poinsettia: irritant to mucous membranes.
- Amaryllis: The most poisonous part is the flower bulb. Inflorescences and leaves contain slightly toxic substances that can irritate delicate skin and cause nausea.
- Narcissus: A beautiful bouquet of daffodils unfortunately hides the danger posed by the plant. If parts of the flower are accidentally swallowed, symptoms such as sweating, diarrhea and vomiting will occur within an hour, and severe poisoning will result in paralysis.
- Oleander: all parts of the plant are poisonous. Symptoms of poisoning are vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, in severe cases, a decrease in heart rate, cardiac arrhythmia and shock.
- Dieffenbachia: after swallowing causes salivation, swelling and numbness of the tongue, making it difficult to swallow and breathe.
- Anthurium: if a child tastes it, the first thing he will feel is a burning sensation in his mouth. The child may also suffer from sore throat, stomach, vomiting and diarrhea.
The list is provided as a first guide as to which commonly known houseplants are considered poisonous, but it is not exhaustive as it does not cover exotic plants or those that children encounter while walking in the garden or playground.
Poisonous houseplants – signs of poisoning in babies
Not a single child in this world is under round-the-clock protection by parents. This would not only drive the father and mother crazy, but would also have a negative impact on the development of the baby. For this reason, it can be assumed that children sometimes run around the apartment unattended and from time to time cannot resist the temptation of colorful houseplants. Therefore, it is important to know how not only to prevent, but also to act in case of poisoning.
First, you need to get rid of the panic if the first symptoms are missed. The best option in this case is to call an ambulance or urgently visit a pediatrician. The first symptom may be sudden fatigue, an active and cheerful baby, suddenly becomes apathetic, moody and refuses to eat.
Other possible signs of houseplant poisoning include:
- Numbness of the limbs
- Dizziness
- convulsions
- Respiratory failure
- visual impairment
- Skin irritation
- Abdominal pain
- hallucinations.
If the child cannot yet explain or show what he ate, an adult should take action as soon as possible, it is also recommended to find the source of the cause, the baby probably knocked over the flower or disturbed it visually – the leaves or flowers will be damaged. Knowing which plant caused harm, the pediatrician will quickly navigate and prescribe the correct treatment.
What to do if a child ate a toxic houseplant
When calling a healthcare professional, an adult should provide the following information:
- The victim is a child, his age and weight.
- What plant he could have poisoned, what parts were consumed and in what quantity.
- When the symptoms appeared, what the child complains about and what is happening to him at the moment.
Before meeting with the doctor, you should examine the child’s mouth for the presence of plant residues and make him spit it out, or remove it yourself. Often worried parents try to induce vomiting in a child, which does not always lead to a positive result, in most cases this action without a doctor’s recommendation leads to a worsening of the condition.
A few sips of non-carbonated boiled water will prove to be the best helper, since the liquid will reduce irritation of the gastrointestinal tract. Other drinks (such as milk or tea) are not allowed.
Explanations and watching instructive cartoons will help prevent poisoning. But what to do when the kid does not listen to the advice of elders? Do without ornamental plants? Not at all.
Not all flowers should be considered potential hazards. For example, roses are among the flowers that do not contain harmful substances. Camellias, geraniums, violets, hibiscus and indoor dahlias are a colorful set of beautiful and safe green plants that can be placed in a room where children play.