If you have avoided having poinsettias in your home because of small children or animals, you鈥檙e not alone. But despite the commonly held belief that poinsettias are toxic, they aren鈥檛. This myth seems to with a misattributed poisoning of a child and perhaps persisted because as the flower are quite toxic.
Despite fears of poinsettia poisonings in over about children eating the red leaves, there . A 50 lb (22.68 kg) child would need to eat to exceed the doses that have been proven experimentally safe.
These leaves, however, aren鈥檛 meant for your salad, so eating even a couple can give you an upset stomach or cause vomiting. This is the reaction commonly seen in dogs and cats, but since these symptoms are mild, oftentimes no veterinarian care is required, although you should contact your vet if your pet is sick for more than a few hours.听聽聽
The biggest risk comes from touching, rather than eating, the plant, as it produces聽latex from its stem聽(like thousands of other plants) that can cause skin or eye irritation in humans and .听
