– It is very scary that the big helmet is in so many gardens, and that many people do not know that it is so poisonous, says Veronica Lyngdal. She escaped the horror after her one-year-old, Marthe, was in contact with what turned out to be the poisonous plant big helmet at home in the garden in Tromsø. Solheim himself saw the 15-month-old daughter put the purple flower to her mouth, and immediately checked what kind of plant this was. – I felt like I was completely panicking. I became a completely cold objection, and thought: What have we done? We have a big helmet in the garden and we have not previously checked whether he is poisonous. ESCAPE THE HORROR: Lyngdal escaped the horror after she suspected that her daughter had ingested a poisonous flower. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news Last year, Poison Information received around 2,500 inquiries about children who had eaten plants or berries. Summer is the peak season for such enquiries. Storhjelm Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news Storhjelm (Aconitum napellus) is a perennial herb in the genus Aconitum in the soleus family. The plant is an upright plant that is between 0.8 and 1.2 meters high and blooms with dark blue flowers from June to September. Storhjelm originates from the Alps and the Carpathians, and is cultivated as an ornamental plant in Norway. The plant is very poisonous, and the poison has, among other things, been used in arrowheads. Source: SNL. To hospital for observation If you have ingested a sufficient amount of large helmet, you may experience symptoms both from the nervous system in the form of muscle weakness and paralysis, consciousness and convulsions. You can also have an effect on the heart and circulation. – Very often you take no chances when children can eat such poisonous plants, and say that it is better to get the children in for observation so that treatment can be started if necessary, says Mari Tosterud, head of department at Poison Information at FHI. DANGEROUS GARDEN FLOWER: These purple flowers are called Storhjelm and are very poisonous. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news This is also how it was for Marthe. In consultation with the emergency department and Poisons Information, the parents decided that the one-year-old Marthe should go to the hospital for observation. Fortunately, she didn’t have a strong reaction. – It has been going really well with our daughter. We have been very lucky. She probably ate a tiny bit, or just held the plant to her mouth. – Few plants cause serious poisoning – We get many inquiries from parents with children in the age group of one to ten years, but there is rarely anything dangerous, says Tosterud. According to her, there are many plants that are poisonous, but few cause serious poisoning when smaller quantities are eaten. The poisonous plant Landøyda also arouses resentment. It has spread in southern Norway in recent years. The feature is from 2021. Tosterud underlines that parents should still have a low threshold for calling the Poison Information Service. – If they call, we can find out if it is dangerous, how urgent it is and if there is something they should do. If you remove the poisonous plants, the plant that Marthe had been in contact with, large helmet, is sold at regular garden centres. Plantasjen’s communications manager, Charlotte Gjone, says that Plantasjen labels plants that are poisonous, including large helmet. – There are many poisonous plants in nature, and even we in the garden center industry can have products that you cannot eat. Communications manager Charlotte Gjone in Plantasjen. Photo: Fredrik Myhre She encourages people to familiarize themselves with the plants they have in the garden, and not to plant flowers they are not sure about. For Lyngdal, at least one thing is clear. She will remove the poisonous plants in the garden. – There are many children who walk past the garden. Imagine if one of the children picks one of the plants and a male. I don’t want that on my conscience. Examples of poisonous plants Some of the most common poisonous flowering plants that grow in Norway. The table includes both wild-growing plants (V), stray plants (F), garden plants (H) and house plants (S). Azalea (s) Yew (w/w) Belladonna herb (w/w) Bulmeur (w/w) Angel’s trumpet (w/w) Golden rain (w/w) Jerusalem sweet vetch (s) Christmas rose (s) Monastery bell (h) Coral sweet vetch (s) Lily of the valley (w/w) Lupine (w/w) Mistletoe (w) Oleander (w/s) Oil plant (w) Prickly pear (w) Foxglove (w/w) Rhododendron (w) Sealsnake (w) Skarntyde (w) Slingsøve ( v) Storhjelm (h/v) Tidløs (h) Tyrihjelm (f) Source: Directorate of Health / SNL
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Suspected that the daughter had eaten a poisonous plant – poison expert warns against several poisonous plants – news Troms and Finnmark
