Mom issues serious warning after daughter, 1, poisoned by common plant with deadly toxin
Danni King
Featured Image Credit: SWNS
After her one-year-old daughter was poisoned by a common plant during a family walk, a mum-of-four has issued a stern warning to other parents about the dangers of certain toxins.
Daisy Hall, 34, has heading to a local park in Shropshire with her four young children in May, when the terrifying incident occurred.
Upon discovering her youngest daughter Winnie was chewing on a rhododendron in her pushchair, Daisy decided to search the flower on Google to check if her daughter was in danger.
She discovered the plant - usually a brightly coloured flower which blooms from late winter through to early summer - is highly toxic to humans and immediately rushed Winnie to a local hospital to seek treatment.
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Winnie was then given activated charcoal orally via a syringe. Mixed with water, this "binds" the poison from the flower to stop it being absorbed into the body, Daisy was informed.
Winnie was eventually discharged after being monitored with an ECG and observed for six hours. Once home, she was monitored for a further 24 hours.
Rhododendron poisoning symptoms include nausea, dizziness, vertigo, blurred vision and vomiting. The plant contains a toxin called grayanotoxins, which is harmful to both humans and animals if eaten.
While en route to the hospital, Daisy called 111 to seek advice and was told to wait for an ambulance, but she decided it would be quicker to make her own way.
“I thought on my way I’ll call 111 and they kept trying to make me pull over to get an ambulance to me. I did pull over but I realised I wasn’t going to get anywhere any quicker by doing that.
"If I had waited for an ambulance she’d have probably been over the time frame for when she could have had the charcoal. By the time I got to hospital they saw us really quickly and said she’d just have to have some charcoal," she explained.
The mum-of-four was tasked with administrating the charcoal orally to her daughter, as this was "less scary" for the one-year-old.
Highlighting the importance of timing, Daisy added, “The charcoal needs to be given within an hour otherwise the poison will be absorbed by the body."
In a bid to raise awareness of the dangers of rhododendron, Daisy has shared her experience online - and has already seen a huge response.
“People online have said ‘I wouldn’t even think to check’ and ‘it’s made me think differently instead of just flicking it out of my child’s mouth and telling them not to eat I’d look it up'," she explained.
So far, her posts have had over 7.1 million viewers and have allowed others to share their experiences.
“People have been sharing other poisonous plants and everyone has been learning from it,” she said. “I’ve had a couple of trolls as well – but out of seven million I’ve only had four."