Happy National Poinsettia Day! December 12th marks the annual celebration of the Poinsettia plant, a red and white flower commonly sold and gifted during the winter holidays. The plant, discovered in 1828 by American botanist Joel Roberts Poinsett, has been a longtime decoration staple during the Christmas season, but an equally long history of allegedly being poisonous to family’s four-legged members; so are the rumors true? Are Poinsettia plants really poisonous to pets and humans?
According to the official Poinsettia Day’s website, the plant, known professionally by botanists as Euphorbia Pulcherrima, is not poisonous despite myths that state otherwise. However, according to PetPosionHelpLine.com, Poinsettia plants are “mildly toxic to cats and dogs.” Despite their confirmation, the odds of your pet actually getting poisoned by the holiday decoration are slim according to the site which classified the myth as hyped and “greatly exaggerated.”
So how do you know if your pet has been poisoned? According to the helpline, signs include vomiting, drooling and sometimes diarrhea. Experts warn that the milky sap in the plants can cause redness, swelling and itchiness among animals if exposed to their skin. A mild case of conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, can also occur if the sap comes in contacts with animals’ eyes. Despite the large range of medical ailments that can occur, experts state that medical treatment is not necessary if any of the above symptoms occur as there is no antidote for Poinsettia poisoning.
With pets in the clear, does that mean humans are immune as well? According to Michael Wahl, medical director of the Illinois Poison Center in Chicago, humans are safe from the holiday plant. “Like the Christmas myths about Santa Claus, flying reindeer and a toy workshop in the North Pole, the belief that Poinsettias are poisonous is false,” Wahl told WedMd the Magazine. According to the report, the myth that Poinsettias are poisonous to humans is believed to have originated in 1919 after a young girl’s parents attributed her death to eating the plant’s leaves. According to Wahl, there are no reports of deaths due to eating Poinsettia leaves but he did confirm that eating the plant can cause nausea and vomiting.
While the plants may not be deadly to humans, PoinsettiaDay.com reports that people with certain sensitivities may suffer from irritation after coming in contact with the plants. “People sensitive to latex, the milky fluid found in cut Poinsettias and other plants, may experience irritations in the form of a rash if they come in contact with the sap,” read the site.
National Poinsettia Day 2013: Are Poinsettias Really Poisonous To Cats, Humans? Signs Your Pet Has Been Poisoned
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