Alcohol, decorations and festive plants are all often part of holiday merrymaking, but poison control professionals say these things can be hazardous if they should fall into the wrong hands.
Baking extracts and alcoholic beverages are seemingly harmless but these items can cause serious problems if they are consumed by children, said Dr. William Richardson, medical director of the Palmetto Poison Center in Columbia.
“Some of those baking extracts, if they contain any amount of alcohol, they are certainly a problem — a real problem,” Richardson said. “If it had an alcohol base or solvent, it could certainly be a concern if a child drinks some of that.”
Alcohol consumption can cause a child’s blood sugar to drop which can lead to seizures or a coma, according to Palmetto Poison Center.
Ingesting very little alcohol can be fatal to a child weighing less than 30 pounds.
“Parents who may be have a party or drinks around whether it be beers or liquors ... a small child just getting a sip of liquor can cause hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar,” he said. “It is something you have to be careful of.”
Leftover cocktails or unlabeled alcoholic drinks should be thrown out or stored out of reach of children.
Additionally, perfumes and cologne given as holiday gifts also contain alcohol and can poison a child, he said.
Hand sanitizers contain alcohol, too, Richardson said.
“Now just a taste of something like that won’t cause any problems, I want to be clear on that,” he said. “But if a child drinks a volume of perfume it could be very problematic.”
Many people are already aware that the poinsettia, a popular holiday plant, can cause illness if ingested, but the plant isn’t as toxic as once thought.
Poinsettia got its stigma as a dangerous plant back when medical treatment wasn’t as good as it is now, Richardson said.
If someone ingested the plant and experienced vomiting and diarrhea, those conditions could cause dehydration which can lead to serious illness or even death if not treated properly, he said. Today, those conditions are easily treatable and usually don’t result in loss of life.
If ingested in small amounts, a poinsettia can cause a mild stomach irritation. Poinsettia sap and sap from cedar Christmas trees also can cause mild skin irritation.
All parts of the mistletoe and holly plants are poisonous and could cause vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain if ingested.
“There’s certain types of chemicals in mistletoe,” he said. “It certainly has some toxicity, but it isn’t something that is usually life-threatening. It can cause some irritation to the mouth and its mucus membranes. Usually it’s self-limiting and not something that leads to any type of serious effects. You see it more around the holiday season.”
For information about poison control, contact the Palmetto Poison Center at (800) 222-1222.
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