An Illinois boy almost died of anaphylactic shock after touching a common backyard plant. As reported by the New York Post, the family of 7-year-old Rayden Vollrath are speaking out about the dangers of unknown plants.
Little Rayden was helping out his parents in the garden with yard work when he had pulled out a pretty common plant. If you're in the Midwest area, you've likely seen a plant with purple berries.
Well, that's pokeberries. And they're known to be pretty darn poisonous. Especially the part of the plant he might have gotten into contact with. Per the Earth Clinic, all parts of the pokeberry are poisonous, including its roots, stems, and especially its sap and berries.
His mother, Danielle Carnicelli, explained, "Long story short, he came in contact with pokeweed and the milk from the stalk got on his nails, I'm guessing or some sort,".
He went on to "scratch his face". To make things worse, he ended up being allergic. That is some horrible luck, right? Well, to say his reaction was bad is an understatement.
His mother explained his allergic reaction ended up progressing to anaphylactic shock over a period of days. His symptoms began with some severe swelling and burning sensations, as the allergic reaction caused him to struggle with his breathing.
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The Boy Recounted His Experience With the Common Yet Poisonous Plant
"It hurt a lot," Rayden recalled. "My chest was burning and I couldn't breathe." Throughout Rayden's terrifying hospitalization experience, his mother had been posting photos on social media. Several posts show him with his face incredibly swollen - one picture before he was hospitalized even showed him with a red, blotchy face and arms.
Eventually, it was found out that Rayden was allergic to the poisonous pokeweed - making his exposure ever more dangerous. Once the swelling had gone down, he was discharged. He was handed an EpiPen as well as eight separate medications to help manage the symptoms.
Carnicelli called Rayden "a spit fire" with how he handled everything.
We hope that his recovery is going well! What an unfortunate experience at such a young age.
