Houseplants vary in shape, size, colour, and looks and can be added to your home to enhance any interior theme. They also purify the air, providing a great health benefit. But there is one thing every homeowner should be cautious about when it comes to selecting plants. Some of them are poisonous.

If you have pets or children, poisonous plants could present a real threat if their parts are ingested. Some plants may even cause skin irritation and other problems if you touch them. Be careful around the following plants:

Dieffenbachia

This is definitely one of the most popular house plants. The fact that it requires low-light conditions and little maintenance means that it can easily thrive in every home. However, the nickname of the plant – Dumb Cane – comes from the symptoms it causes when eaten. The plant sap usually leads to tongue swelling, which in turn presents a danger to both pets and humans if ingested.

Oleander

Certainly beautiful to the sight, but equally dangerous in that all of its parts are quite poisonous. You need to be careful when it comes to pruning and other garden care tasks. Always wear gloves and thoroughly wash your hands after tending to this plant.

Philodendron

This selection is probably among the most widely used indoor plants, featured in both homes and offices. However, the plants of this type are poisonous to both pets and humans if ingested.

This plant is mostly dangerous to pets, cats in particular. Serious issues have been reported by veterinarians, who state that even small parts of the plant may cause cat death. The main damage occurs in the form of kidney failure, which is lethal if not treated promptly.

English ivy

While it is true that severe problems will occur only after ingesting large quantity of plant parts, there have been reports of skin irritation and rash in some cases. That is why you have to be careful around blooming ivies, especially during your gardening rounds, when it is easy to come into contact with the plant.

Most plants are safe to grow around children and pets. It is the aforementioned types you need to be careful about. It is better to look for alternatives, than be sorry later.

Further reading:

• Gardening Services London’s Blog
• 10 Common Houseplants that are Harmful to Your Pets
• 12 Organic Ways to Keep Your Garden Free of Slugs
• 5 Natural Pest Remedies for Your Garden

Sources:

• Poisonous Plants in the Home – Better Homes and Gardens
• Dieffenbachia – Wikipedia

Every day, thousands of families are devastated by tragedy, by the loss of a child. Most of these deaths are from injuries that occurred in preventable accidents. It is believed by many experts that simply making a concerted effort to take some precautions could cut this number in half.

Young children are more worried about bad guys coming to get them or monsters in the closet than they are about realistic dangers. They leave their toys on the stairs, climb up bookcases, and blindly run into traffic.

In all frankness, the world is filled with naïve adults as well. Most parents are more terrified of germs than exposure to toxic chemicals, more terrified of the measles than the MMR vaccine’s side effects. The active ingredients in antibacterial soaps (chemicals such as triclosan) are far more dangerous than germs on your hands. The risk of vaccine injury is much higher than the risk of contracting measles. Americans are far more likely to die from prescribed pharmaceuticals than by terrorists. The worst terror attack in American history resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths. Every year, more 100,000 Americans die from prescribed pharmaceuticals.

Danger is everywhere, but many of us are scared of the wrong things. Our fears are often fueled by the media, which is driven by corporate greed. We need to separate fact from fiction to understand the greatest threats to our children.

Dying by Accidents

According to the CDC, fatal injuries are the leading cause of death for children 0-19 years of age in the U.S. According to the World Health Organization, the global trend is similar, with accidental injuries being the leading cause of death for children over five years of age.

It doesn’t benefit us as parents to become paranoid about childhood injury, but the opposite attitude of “Oh well, accidents happen,” attitude doesn’t serve us well, either. In the reports, some efforts were noted to have made a difference. Innovations such as car seats, helmets, child resistant containers for medications, and fencing around pools have helped prevent accidental injuries and death.

Facing Facts

Most of the time, accidents don’t just happen. They are the result of unsafe acts, poor habits, or carelessness. That means that many of these injuries are preventable. Each year, more than 12,000 children die from accidental injuries, and more than 9 million children receive emergency medical care for non-fatal, but serious injuries.

Boys are also more likely to be injured than girls and boys account for twice the fatalities. Most of the fatal injuries to children were transportation related. Most of the children killed from transportation-related accidents were occupants in vehicles, but many children were pedestrians or cyclists.

Many of these deaths can be prevented by wearing seat belts, wearing helmets, and practicing defensive driving. It is widely known that driving while intoxicated is unsafe, but distracted driving and drowsy driving (driving while sleepy) are also high risk.

Injuries due to falls were the most common injury for children 14 and under. The next most common causes of injury were being struck by an object, bitten by animals, or stung by insects.

Better Not to Over Do It

Many kids ages 10-14 landed in the emergency room due to overexertion. That’s right, kids in the U.S. are so out of shape that exercising too hard can put them in the hospital.

The CDC listed suffocation, drowning, burns, and poisoning as other common injuries. The risk for these types of injuries varied somewhat by age and location. Common sense precautions like childproofing your house, wearing safety gear (like helmets), and closely supervising your kids are known to be some of the best preventative measures.

The next time someone accuses you of putting your children at risk by refusing vaccines, ask them if they know what is most likely to kill their children. It isn’t germs.

Recommended Reading:

• Doctor’s Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research
• Scientists Against GMOs – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research
• The Fascinating Bacteria in our Gut, and How it Affects Our Whole Lives

Sources:

• Protect the Ones You Love: Child Injuries are Preventable – CDC
• World Report on Child Injury Prevention – WHO