Mom Issues Warning After Her Daughter Has 'Scary' Reaction To Toxic Flower

Sep 21, 2018

Flowers are a gorgeous part of nature. They are amazing to look at. However, they are not always meant to be touched. Flowers, for billions of years, have been evolving into how beautiful they are today as a way to attract insects to pollinate them.

What many people don’t realize is flowers can be very harmful to humans.

This is a truth Ashley Medeiros, a mom and nurse, recently found out when she came across a flower called the Moonflower. The Moonflower is fairly common in gardens in the United States. It looks similar to a St. Joseph's lily.

But the Moonflower isn’t as innocent as it looks.

The Moonflower is highly dangerous with symptoms like dangerous hallucinations and in worst cases, death.

Ashley Medeiros shared photos of her daughter, Piper, on Facebook after she came into contact with this flower.

She explained in her Facebook post that her daughter was playing with the flowers when her eyes started to change. One eye had a very small pupil and the other was blown out.

The flower also has the potential to cause abdominal problems and cardiac arrhythmias. She warns other parents to dig them up if they find these Moonflowers and get them away from their kids.

The Moonflower can also be known as jimson weed, thorn-apple, angel’s trumpet, Datura, devil’s weed, pricklyburr, and devil’s trumpet. The Moonflower has 28 belladonna alkaloids that include scopolamine, hyoscine, atropine, and hyoscymine.

The hyoscymine can cause pupil dilation, dry mouth, fever, vomiting, dizziness, and hallucinations. It can even cause the nervous system to shut down in severe cases.

This can lead to heart failure, seizures, coma, and possibly death.

What affected Piper was the hyoscine. It caused her pupils to dilate. Amnesia could be possible when exposed to the flowers. While some people only have symptoms for a few hours, but other people could have symptoms for up to two weeks.

If someone is showing some of these symptoms, take them to the emergency room right away.

While deaths are rare with the Moonflower, it is very possible. Severe effects of the flower are very common with people who come into contact with it. If you see a flower that looks like the Moonflower, it is best to stay away.

Have you seen the Moonflower or come into contact with it? What were the effects? Tell us your story below!

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation with your doctor. Your health is important to us!