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pebbles1977_gw

Quick help with this berry weed my 2 year old ate!

pebbles1977
12 years ago

My 2 year old just ate some berries from a weed. I don't know the name of it or I would have called poison control. It's about 6 feet high with green and purple berries growing in clusters. Poisonous?

Comments (9)

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    12 years ago

    Get off the internet & call 911!

  • pebbles1977
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    We figured out it was pokeweed and called poison control. He only ate a couple of berries and they told me other than an upset tummy, he should be ok

  • linda_schreiber
    12 years ago

    pebbles >I don't know the name of it or I would have called poison control.

    purple.. >Get off the internet & call 911!

    Pebbles.... You don't have to know what it is before you call, at the least, poison control, even if there are no symptoms. Call immediately! Poison control will have much faster ways to id what he ate, and assess the risks re the berries he ate, and they will have fast coordination with 911 if necessary. ***If there are *any* symptoms at all, or poison control seems to be slowish, go for 911!*** This is especially important for someone as young as 2! Very tiny quantities of plant toxins can take just a little while to digest, and everything seems normal, and then they can suddenly hit like a ton of bricks on that little body.

    When something like this happens, call poison control. If it is 'no problem', they will check it out and will still be glad you called them. Trust me, they actually prefer giving information rather than dealing with crises.

    *This time*, you were very, very, very lucky.... The internet is not the place to potentially trust your toddler's life to....

    Agreeing with purpleinopp, in full, and in spades....

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    12 years ago

    That's what I thought from your description - pokeweed. I wanted to say that yesterday but didn't want to be sued later for faulty advice, and wanted to make sure you sought professional help. It's known to be toxic but I'm certainly not informed enough to know how many pokeweed berries a toddler can safely ingest, if any. So glad this had a happy ending!!

    Pokeweed is an interesting-looking native plant, but not appropriate where kids play. It is noteworthy that they tasted good enough to your child to eat a 2nd one. Mother nature is cruel sometimes. I hope you have chopped that plant down (assuming it's in your yard.) It will probably not be totally dead just from being chopped. If you pour boiling water on it, that should finish off the root. If you had one plant, there are probably more seeds lurking in the area. Keep an eye out for new sprouts, which are easy to pull when small.

  • finchelover
    12 years ago

    I don't know how toxic the Poke weed is to humans but last year I found some along our fence line where we had the horses and not knowing what it was brought in branch for my husband to I.D and I was instructed to cute it down immediately it was poisonous to animals.

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    12 years ago

    I hope that pebbles gets rid of all of the poke weed around the property. And anything else that might look attractive to a toddler.

  • ephyfe
    12 years ago

    if your child or any child eats anything you should contact posion control or 911 immediately. NEVER wait for internet help on matters like this. Poisons can cause sickness or death by the time you get a response.

  • Kimmsr
    12 years ago

    Call 911, if your area does have this service (not everywhere does) or call 1-800-222-1222 for your regional poison control center.