Many people during the holiday season will be traveling to visit relatives and friends. With all of the joy, hustle and bustle of the season, our little ones with curious hands and minds often get left unattended. Children need only a moment to be poisoned. By taking a few minutes, most poisonings can be prevented. Below you will find a list along with the symptoms that can be seen of various plants and objects that can be dangerous to you and your little ones if ingested.

Poisonous Plants (Small amounts usually produce only mild symptoms, but larger amounts can be a problem. Please call your poison control center for more information.)

• Holly Berry: Can cause stomach upset, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
• Jerusalem Cherry: Can cause nausea, vomiting, headache and diarrhea.
• Mistletoe: The most toxic of all holiday plants. All parts of the plant are toxic, especially the berries. However, fewer than two berries are probably not enough to cause problems. If ingested, stomach upset, nausea, vomiting, explosive diarrhea, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and drowsiness can occur.

Non-Poisonous Plants

• Christmas cactus.
• Snowball bush.
• Swedish ivy.
• Christmas trees: The needles may cause irritation to the throat or mouth.
• Poinsettia: This plant is not toxic in reasonable quantities. If ingested in very large amounts, it can cause irritation to the mouth and/or nausea or vomiting.
• Decorations: These usually do not contain toxic chemicals but only produce mechanical irritation and are choking hazards.
• Angel hair: This is spun glass and can cause irritation to the eyes, skin and mouth.
• Bubble lights: These contain methylene chloride, which can cause headaches, drowsiness, and/or cause irritation to the nose, mouth and throat.
• Fireplace colors: Fireplace colors contain a variety of heavy metals such as lead, copper, arsenic, barium and selenium. These metals can cause stomach upset with vomiting.
• Snow sprays: It is important that the room in which you are spraying is well ventilated and that you take breaks. Snow sprays can cause nausea, vomiting, headache and drowsiness from inhaling the fumes.
• Christmas tree preservative solution: For the most part, the liquid contains glucose, a form of sugar.
• Christmas tree ornaments: Most ornaments are made of plastic, glass, styrofoam, wood and metal. Most ornaments are nontoxic but can be a choking hazard if swallowed.
• Icicles and tinsel: These are sometimes made of tin and lead. If ingested, it may hurt your stomach or throat and can be a choking hazard.
• Christmas globes (snow globes): Globes may contain plastic or glitter, which are not toxic. However, the water in the globes could be contaminated with bacteria.
• Tiny disc batteries: These batteries can be found in watches, toys, cameras and calculators. Difficulty breathing and stomach upset can occur if swallowed by children.

Gifts

• Gifts of liquor, perfume or aftershave: These items may contain alcohol resulting in nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sleepiness, numbness and low blood sugar in children.
• Silly putty, bouncing putty, stretch toys: These are made of silicones, boric oxide, glycerin silica and aluminum stearate. If ingested they can cause difficulty breathing and can be a choking hazard.

If an accidental poisoning does occur during the holiday season or anytime during the year, please call the Central Texas Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222.

Meredith Podraza, Pharm.D. Candidate
University of Texas
College of Pharmacy

Back to Top