Oleander - A beautiful flowering plant, but easily causes poisoning.

In Vietnam, people in some regions use oleander to treat scabies by crushing the leaves and applying them directly or boiling them to make a concentrated decoction for washing, but this is very dangerous.

Oleander (Nerium indicum Mill.), belonging to the Apocynaceae family, is also known as the oleander or oleander tree. It is a beautiful flowering tree grown as an ornamental plant in parks, gardens, and home gardens. In ancient times, people soaked oleander leaves in alcohol and applied it externally to treat snake bites. In Vietnam, people in some regions also use oleander to treat scabies by crushing the leaves and applying them directly or boiling them in water to make a concentrated solution for washing, but this is very dangerous.

Because the entire oleander plant contains a very bitter and toxic milky sap, hydrocyanic acid, and toxic glucosides such as oleandrin, neriin, and neriantin, ancient medicine recognized oleander as highly poisonous. Cattle and horses that ate some fresh oleander leaves were poisoned. People who ate the meat of animals that died from oleander leaf poisoning were also poisoned. Experiments have shown that people who drink water contaminated with fallen oleander leaves or water infused with oleander roots will be poisoned.

The fresh bark and wood of the oleander stem are more poisonous than the leaves. In Corsica, France, there have been cases of poisoning from eating grilled skewers made from oleander branches and drinking water from bottles with stoppers made of oleander wood. Although the flowers of the oleander plant are less poisonous than other parts, they can still contaminate water if they fall into it. The poison is not destroyed by parts of the oleander plant that have been boiled or dried. It is also believed that honey containing oleander nectar and pollen is poisonous.

Symptoms of oleander poisoning manifest as discomfort, weakness in the limbs, nausea, and dizziness (with small doses); bloody diarrhea, respiratory distress, vomiting, convulsions, cardiac arrhythmias, weak pulse, coma, and death (with high doses). Therefore, do not plant oleander near water sources such as wells, ponds, or water tanks; do not tie or release livestock under oleander trees; do not allow young children to pick and play with oleander flowers as they may put them in their mouths; and do not use oleander leaves to treat skin diseases in any form.

According to Health and Lifestyle