Pediatria pre prax 4/2015

Child accidents involving plants and mushrooms

Accidents involving ingestion of parts of plants in the home or in the outdoor setting are a typical issue in children, particularly toddlers. Consultations for plant poisoning have accounted for 10% to 11% of the total volume for many years. In children up to 15 years of age, plants as a reason for consultation account for 18%, in older patients they constitute 3%. House plants are particularly associated with leaf ingestion, garden plants with fruit or flower ingestion. Teenagers abuse Jimson weed seeds or, less frequently, small Psilocybin mushrooms for their hallucinogenic effects. Mushrooms are a separate, small, but much feared chapter of child poisoning. If a mushroom meal containing a poisonous mushroom is prepared and eaten, the youngest diner is at risk for the most severe poisoning symptoms. Since mushrooms are not a significant source of nutrients and are difficult to digest for children, it makes sense to leave them out of the diet of preschoolers.

Keywords: house plants, garden plants, toxic mushrooms.