Baby holiday safety: poisonous holiday plants

Yesterday we looked at some common child poisoning dangers during the holiday. Then we learned all about holiday poinsettia dangers Now we're going to take a look at some other common and dangerous holiday plants.The Drug and Poison Information Center (DPIC), notes that special care and safety should be taken if you have the following plants in your home, during the holiday season: Mistletoe Mistletoe is common during the holidays - you may think of it as a fun kissing plant, but it can be very dangerous for little ones. According to DPIC, "Certain varieties of mistletoe contain substances that, in large quantities, can affect the nervous system, blood pressure and the heart." While the entire plant is a danger, the berries contain the most toxins, and this is extra important, because children are attracted to shiny bright berries. If children only ingest a couple of berries there's no major cause for alarm or necessity for treatment BUT you should still contact poison control. Absolutely contact them if your child eats a lot of berries. Holly There are about 400 different varieties of holly but the type you see to your right is commonly what you'll see during the holiday season. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and a slowing down of breathing and heart rate can occur when someone eats holly berries. The leaves may also contain toxins, plus some of the leaves are sharp edged and can poke and cause choking. Jerusalem Cherry The Jerusalem Cherry may also be labeled as Winter Cherry or Madeira Winter Cherry and looks like this:

Click here to see other images of this plant. Reports of toxicity due to munching on the Jerusalem Cherry are rare. Although there have been reported signs and symptoms which include dilated pupils, salivation, nausea, vomiting, headache, bloating, diarrhea, respiratory depression, central nervous system depression, confusion, irregular heartbeat, coma and death. So even though toxicity is rare, clearly when it happens, it's bad news. There are no solid studies about how much of this plant you'd have to eat to get sick, so always call poison control, even if your child only munches a little. Cyclamen: According to DPIC very little is known about this holiday plant. If you have one, and your child gets a hold of it, be safe and contact poison control. An image of Cyclamen is below.

The best protection:

• Keep all holiday plants out of reach of little ones.
• Keep an eye out for plant parts that fall to the ground - such as from hanging mistletoe.
• If your child munches on a plant call poison control.
• If your child messes with a plant, wash her skin off with soapy water. Some holiday plants have toxins in the actual leaves that may be spread by touch.

Learn more about winter holiday safety:

• Safe holiday parties for your baby
• Five baby holiday dangers
• Holiday fire safety tips
• Number one best safe toy tip
• It’s the perfect time to sign up for recall information
• Winter baby dehydration
• Winter winds and your baby