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On a recent evening at dinner, my daughter, who will turn four this month, ate a couple bites, got down from her chair and told us, “My mouth is stuck.” She’s been a picky eater lately and we weren’t quite sure what to make of her behavior or what she was saying, and honestly, my husband and I were both on the verge of becoming annoyed with her. Was this yet another dinner avoidance tactic? Soon she began sneezing, as if she was having an allergic reaction and it became clear she really was not feeling well. As I held her in my arms and tried to determine what was wrong, she vomited on my dinner plate.

The vomiting continued, and my husband and I began to wonder if she had eaten some flowers from an andromeda bush in our backyard. She and a friend had been playing outside and her friend told me the bush’s pink and white flowers were like “candy canes.” It seemed unlikely to us that this was the problem, though, as Annabel doesn’t put things in her mouth anymore and anyway, it had been a couple hours since she’d been outside playing. Wouldn’t she have gotten sick long before now? I briefly debated in my mind whether to call 911 or Poison Control, but as she soon began to fade in and out of consciousness, 911 won the debate. The 911 operator sent an ambulance to our house and called Poison Control. While I waited for the ambulance to arrive, I learned that some varieties of andromeda (Pieris japonica) are toxic. In fact, as I found out later, this plant is considered to have major toxicity, and can cause serious illness or death.

When the paramedics arrived, Annabel’s blood pressure and heart rate were depressed and she was still having trouble staying conscious, so we took her to the emergency room by ambulance (I was allowed to ride with her). She never lost consciousness for more than a few seconds at a time, thankfully, and while I was certainly concerned, throughout the ordeal, my “momma sense” told me she was going to be okay. Her condition didn’t seem to be worsening and the fact that she had thrown up so much and was dry-heaving by the time the ambulance arrived told me that no more toxin was entering her bloodstream. In the ER, the staff monitored her vital signs and gave her fluid through an IV to keep hydrated. Although she began to seem like her usual self again within an hour or so after we arrived, her heartrate was still slow and Poison Control recommended keeping her in ICU for observation overnight. My husband stayed with her while I went home to our one-year-old son.

Few interesting points: One, I learned that the hospital closest to our home does not have a pediatric emergency room, while one that’s just a few miles further away does. The EMT suggested taking her to the hospital with the pediatric ER, which was staffed with caring, friendly nurses who did a great job helping Annabel feel at ease. Two, the doctor in ICU asked if she had reported her tongue being “stuck”–apparently this is how many children describe swelling or numbness in their tongue, a sign of poisoning. I didn’t make that leap at the time. Three, if you have andromeda/Pieris japonica in your yard, consider removing it! Its bulbous pea-size flowers, which grow in clumps, are especially attractive to young children.

Had she eaten a lot of those flowers instead of just four or five, the story may have ended differently, but thankfully Annabel came home fully recovered the next morning. I once again find myself marveling at the human body’s ability to protect itself, and the resilience of children. My husband took the chainsaw to that andromeda bush soon after, though many other poisonous plants remain in our yard and other places we enjoy. Just yesterday at one of our favorite parks I noticed some recently planted andromeda right next to the playground. In our yard, azalea, boxwood, calla lily, chrysanthemum, columbine, delphinium, English daisy, hellebore, hyacinth, hydrangea, irises, laurel, lily-of-the-valley, lilies, rhubarb, rhododendron, and violet, all toxic to some degree, remain. I considered planting a daphne in place of the just-removed andromeda, but found it too is on the list of toxic plants. I’m an avid gardener, trained even as a Master Gardener, and thought I knew a lot about plants, but I had no idea so many common plants in my own yard are unsafe.

As the weather warms and we head back out for long days in outdoors, I know I’ll be talking a lot with my kids about what is and isn’t safe in our yard. We have many edibles, including berries, herbs, and vegetables, which I encourage the kids to enjoy. While I still think it’s important to help them understand the connection between plant and plate, but I realize I also need to emphasize what specifically they should not consume, in our yard and elsewhere. I’m keeping a copy of the UC Davis list of unsafe plants and their toxicity classification in my car for those impromptu visits to the garden center, too.

So, what’s in your yard? How do you keep your young children safe from potentially harmful plants? Do you know which hospitals in your area have a pediatric emergency room? Is the number to Poison Control on or near your phone?

[tags]parenting, kids, food, allergies, scary[/tags]

Photo graciously provided by Life As Art, under a Creative Commons license