How dangerous is the toxic substance in the poison ivy that can kill people in a short time?

If asked what leaves can kill you , you will definitely think of the poison ivy . That's right, the poison ivy is extremely poisonous and can kill the person who eats it in a short time.

Aconite, also known as the rootless plant, foxglove, foxglove, yellow vine, and broken heart grass, is a highly poisonous plant. Eating just three or more aconite leaves can cause the victim to die immediately.

Poison ivy is an evergreen climbing plant, up to 12m long. This plant often grows in mountainous areas of our country, especially in the northern mountainous provinces such as Hoa Binh, Lao Cai, Son La.

How strong is the toxicity of the leaves?

In Vietnam, aconite is one of the four most toxic plants (group A poison), along with the aconite, oleander and sui plants.

The most toxic substance in the leaves is alkaloid, a dangerous toxin that can kill a person instantly even in small amounts. Alkaloid is absorbed very quickly through the digestive tract, taking only 5-30 minutes and can take a person's life in 1-7 hours.

The alkaloid poison is present throughout the plant. Toxicity decreases in the order of roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, and stems. Even just being exposed to the toxic sap when picking leaves or breaking branches and accidentally coming into contact with food or open wounds, the victim will be poisoned and have symptoms of thirst, sore throat, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea leading to respiratory arrest very quickly.

According to research, pound the leaves into juice (10g of leaves, 10ml of water), take 3 drops and give it to mice to drink. After 9 minutes, the mice die of convulsions. For humans, just eating three leaves or one leaf with a little alcohol will cause death very quickly.

Symptoms of poison ivy

People poisoned by aconite have the following symptoms: thirst, sore throat, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, followed by muscle fatigue, low blood pressure, low body temperature, clenched teeth, foaming at the mouth, severe abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, weak heartbeat, dilated pupils and rapid respiratory arrest.

1. 11 beautiful flowers that contain deadly poison

How to treat poisoning from poison ivy

Induce vomiting: If the poisoned person is conscious, try to get them to vomit the poison out of their body by stimulating their throat with your finger or letting them smell the most unpleasant smell.

After vomiting, give the patient plenty of fluids to dilute the toxin. Keep the victim warm to avoid hypothermia.

Then, quickly take them to the nearest medical facility for timely treatment by a doctor.

Note, do not use any medicine without the guidance of a specialist. The urgent thing when discovering someone poisoned by aconite is to quickly give first aid, then take them to the nearest hospital.

Hemlock is highly toxic and acts quickly, so time is the key to saving victims of poisoning most effectively.

Samuel Daniel

Update 27 June 2025