Is the autumn crocus poisonous? - Information on the poison content

Is the autumn crocus poisonous? - Information on the poison content

Toxic like arsenic - The treacherous danger of autumn crocus

The autumn flowering bulbous plants are permeated by alkaloids. These include colchicine, which is similar to arsenic. The lethal dose is 10 to 20 mg, which is about 2 g of onion meat or 5 g of seeds. Thus, especially for children, pets and grazing animals, there is a lethal danger from autumn crocus. Fatally, the first symptoms of intoxication only appear after a few hours, which makes treatment more difficult because gastric lavage no longer helps.

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Typical symptoms of autumn crocus poisoning

When the first symptoms of colchicine poisoning appear, the poison has been in the body for several hours. The first signs should therefore be known in order to act immediately, because now every minute counts. You should pay attention to:

  • Gradually worsening difficulty swallowing
  • A burning, scratchy feeling in the mouth and throat
  • Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
  • Falling blood pressure with a simultaneous drop in body temperature

If the person concerned does not get medical treatment immediately, death occurs through cardiac arrest and respiratory paralysis. The patient experiences these torments with full awareness until the end. The most common cause is mistaking the leaves for wild garlic. Furthermore, children put the flowers in their mouths. Sometimes the relatively large flower bulb is exchanged for a kitchen onion.

Tips

If you do not want to tolerate such a poisonous plant in the garden, the removal requires a good deal of perseverance. Herbicides rarely reach the onions that lie deep in the ground, from which autumn crocus sprout again and again. It is better to weed the green leaves consistently every May in order to starve the plant out in the long term.