# Health Risks of handing plants? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2015, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503 "2015-06-26T01:33:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503/1 "2015-06-26T01:33:22Z")
So there’s a lot of garden plants that it would be most unwise to put in your salad. But is there any garden plant so toxic that you can get sick or worse from just touching it? You see various advice like “wear gloves when handling handling this plant”, usually with things like Foxglove, Lily of the Valley, Angel’s Trumpet. I saw a sign at a garden center requesting people use the provided gloves when picking out Hyacinth bulbs. What about smashing some leaves and then licking your fingers afterwords? What if your cat licks your fingers. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503/2 "2015-06-26T02:18:19Z")
I think you are going to be hard-pressed to find a common houseplant that is dangerous to touch. But, there’s always [Euphorbiaceae](http://www.theamateursdigest.com/epoisons.htm), which have sap that ranges from irritating to deadly. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503/3 "2015-06-26T02:27:26Z")
Oleander carries a lot of warnings. You often see statements like this: > [@](#): > > Oleanders are extremely toxic. All parts are poisonous and contact with them can cause skin irritation and allergic reactions. Always wear long sleeves and gloves when handling oleanders. Oleanders are so poisonous that children have died from making a whistle from a twig. Adults have died from using a twig as a skewer to roast a hot dog. If any amount of the plant is ingested, contact poison control immediately. Even burning it can cause reactions to the smoke. [http://garden.lovetoknow.com/shrubs/oleander-plants](http://garden.lovetoknow.com/shrubs/oleander-plants) That may be somewhat exaggerated, but the plant is very poisonous. Add that bees can supposedly make poisonous honey out of oleander flowers, and it can poison compost piles. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503/4 "2015-06-26T04:00:20Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Oleander carries a lot of warnings. You often see statements like this: > [http://garden.lovetoknow.com/shrubs/oleander-plants](http://garden.lovetoknow.com/shrubs/oleander-plants) > > That may be somewhat exaggerated, but the plant is very poisonous. Add that bees can supposedly make poisonous honey out of oleander flowers, and it can poison compost piles. Oleander toxicity is, IMHO, incredibly overrated. I have hundreds of feet (literally) of Oleander hedges, and the plants grow like weeds out here, and I’ve never once heard of anyone (or anything) being poisoned by them. They are supposed to be instant death to any animal that eats their leaves, but I’ve had horses, goats, and llamas pastured with them, with no issues. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503/5 "2015-06-26T14:39:17Z")
I believe that **WhyNot** has written some about her unfortunate experiences with skin contact with datura. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503/6 "2015-06-26T16:01:46Z")
[Stinging nettle.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urtica_dioica) While kayaking, my gf got out of her boat to pee. She brushed against a plant and experienced what she described as wasp stings. I took a picture and we figured out what the plant was. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503/7 "2015-06-26T16:08:25Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Oleander toxicity is, IMHO, incredibly overrated. > I have hundreds of feet (literally) of Oleander hedges, and the plants grow like weeds out here, and I’ve never once heard of anyone (or anything) being poisoned by them. They are supposed to be instant death to any animal that eats their leaves, but I’ve had horses, goats, and llamas pastured with them, with no issues. There was an incident in my youth where a kid’s horse was poisoned on purpose with oleander. Someone chopped up oleander leaves and mixed them with the horse’s feed, apparently to remove the horse as competition in the show ring. The horse died quickly. There’s more info on oleander toxicity in horses [here](http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_b/B-712.pdf). I’d say luck has played a large part in your experience with the plant. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503/8 "2015-06-26T16:28:45Z")
Wild parsnip. It looks like Queen Anne’s lace, and causes huge blisters. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503/9 "2015-06-26T16:33:01Z")
BTW, Snopes debunks the “oleander used as weenie roasting sticks” thing, which is what I was expecting when I said “somewhat exaggerated”. Snopes, does, however, repeat that ingestion of a single oleander leaf is reportedly enough to kill a child. Given the toxicity of the plant, it’s somewhat amazing that there aren’t a larger number of poisonings from it. > **[Oleander Poisoning](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fatal-wienie-roast/)** > > Did a troop of Boy Scouts die after roasting hot dogs on oleander branches? Re stinging nettle: I wouldn’t really consider it a garden plant. I don’t think many people cultivate it deliberately. You might have to deal with it as a weed, of course, and it does have its uses. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503/10 "2015-06-26T17:38:48Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > [Stinging nettle.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urtica_dioica) While kayaking, my gf got out of her boat to pee. She brushed against a plant and experienced what she described as wasp stings. I took a picture and we figured out what the plant was. I wouldn’t describe the effect of stinging nettles as “getting sick or worse”, it’s localised skin irritation. Also, they make excellent soup if picked young. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503/11 "2015-06-26T20:27:37Z")
> [@naita](#): > > I wouldn’t describe the effect of stinging nettles as “getting sick or worse”, it’s localised skin irritation. Also, they make excellent soup if picked young. Granted. I’m a little overly protective of my gf, I guess. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-risks-of-handing-plants/723503/12 "2015-06-26T22:09:41Z")
I’ve gardened extensively over many years. I’ve handled foxglove, oleander and datura. I’ve stripped many leaves off Brugmansias (related to Datura) in preparation for bringing potted plants inside for a winter rest, without gloves, and without symptoms of any kind. Never a problem from skin contact, unless you count poison ivy. The bit about not handling hyacinth bulbs without gloves sounds ridiculously unnecessary, though there are probably tiny percentages of people who might get a skin reaction to that or some other bulb/plant. Euphorbia should be safe for just about anyone to handle, provided you don’t break or bruise leaves/stems and get sap on your hands (I’ve survived that too without incident). Some parents and pet owners go bats over alleged plant dangers (typically related to ingestion), but provided you carefully monitor omnivorous toddlers and teach kids not to eat random stuff\*, plant toxicity should not be a major concern in a garden sense. \*unfortunately, eating whatever they can find is a personality trait in Labrador retrievers. ☹