In article Dv9qd.1988$wr6.452@trnddc04, Salty Thumb
wrote:

"Jim Carlock" wrote in
:

witnessed it, but it's definitely better to be safe than sorry.

This response has been rated PG13 Parental Guidance suggested.
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I don't know why so many people equate being better safe than sorry with
living in a bubble. It's as simple as knowing not to fondle your
poinsettias, not letting your kids eat them and not asking your delicate
hot young non-lebanese slave girl who just rubbed all up & down her hot
naked body with frankincense and myrrh to water them.

In the unlikely event somebody does get a rash then you don't have to
stand around with a dumb look thinking "well it can't be the poinsettia,
somebody said they're non-toxic ..." while the victim screams in agony as
little blisters on their skin repeatedly break oozing pus and dark blood
drips like boiling summer rain from their eyelids "... I wonder if I
should call poison control or Wilfred Brimley".

At any rate, diabetes (at least type-2) can cause all sorts of
neuropathies that would impair a person's normal response to avoid
potentially allegeric substances. So instead of "an allergic reaction to
the poinsettas that caused the diabetes" it's more likely that "because
of the diabetes, the victim was unable to sense the allergic substance".

The reason it is assinine to be safer than sorry when dealing with a
non-toxic substance (such as, say, poinsettias) on the off-chance that
someone MIGHT have an unpredictable allergic reaction -- is because that's
true of EVERYthing. The list I gave before, that includes carrots &
celery, are far more likely to cause contact dermititis than is
poinsettia. One could never go out doors or even into the kitchen if this
level of safe-not-sorry was applied.

Anyone with an allergy to poinsettias would also have an allergy to pencil
erasers. They would not have gotten this far in life not knowing they were
allergic to latex. And their allergy would have nothing whatsoever to do
with normal healthy reactions (rather non-reactions) to latex.

RATIONAL safe-not-sorry is to not take chances until the facts are known.
If you don't know for sure that it's a common blueberry, don't eat it; if
you do know it's a common blueberry, & you still won't eat it because
you'd rather be safe than sorry, then that judgement would define that
idiot as a loon.

When the facts are known & someone still decides it's too dangerous, then
that person is a nutcake & a loon. Period.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com

(paghat) wrote in
news
The reason it is assinine to be safer than sorry when dealing with a
non-toxic substance (such as, say, poinsettias) on the off-chance that
someone MIGHT have an unpredictable allergic reaction -- is because
that's true of EVERYthing. The list I gave before, that includes
carrots & celery, are far more likely to cause contact dermititis than
is poinsettia. One could never go out doors or even into the kitchen
if this level of safe-not-sorry was applied.

Anyone with an allergy to poinsettias would also have an allergy to
pencil erasers. They would not have gotten this far in life not
knowing they were allergic to latex. And their allergy would have
nothing whatsoever to do with normal healthy reactions (rather
non-reactions) to latex.

RATIONAL safe-not-sorry is to not take chances until the facts are
known. If you don't know for sure that it's a common blueberry, don't
eat it; if you do know it's a common blueberry, & you still won't eat
it because you'd rather be safe than sorry, then that judgement would
define that idiot as a loon.

When the facts are known & someone still decides it's too dangerous,
then that person is a nutcake & a loon. Period.

-paghat the ratgirl


What it comes down to is you are claiming poinsettias are non-toxic even
though you admit some may have an allergic reaction, and that those with
allergic reactions will have at some prior time have experienced the
reaction and instinctively know latex based items should be avoided.

Obviously if your allergy is extreme then yes you would probably be dead
already. But if by fate or happy circumstance you've never been exposed
to a blueberry and yet were allergic, sensing something amiss and still
persisted in eating it, then you may not be a loon but you may end up in
the hospital with your stomach pumped or in the ground pushing up
daisies.

While I am not advocating wholesale avoidance of anything remotely
dangerous, I am saying that people should be aware of possiblilities and
not dismiss everything with a blanket statement.

Now while edible items have a different standard than non-edible ones,
you have said that poinsettias are non-toxic yet you would not rub one
all over your naked body. Now, being non-toxic it should be perfectly
safe, why not? Would you rather be safe, and loony, than sorry?

People have their quirks and sometimes there may be an underlying reason,
and even if there is not, there's no reason for condescension.

In article ,
paghat wrote:

Anyone with an allergy to poinsettias would also have an allergy to pencil
erasers. They would not have gotten this far in life not knowing they were
allergic to latex. And their allergy would have nothing whatsoever to do
with normal healthy reactions (rather non-reactions) to latex.


Pencil erasers and poinsettia sap are very different, and it is not
necessarily a latex allergy that causes the contact dermatitis (The
reverse is not true -- there are lots of people allergic to latex,
and few allergic to poinsettia sap). In fact, I know of no study
that has determined what compound is involved -- severe contact
dermatitis is so rare that it's a matter of case reports.

However, broad studies of poinsettia toxicity have been done,
and you are absolutely correct that the rate of bad reactions
verges on the idiosyncratic. For instance, see:

Krenzelok EP, Jacobsen TD, Aronis JM Poinsettia exposures have good
outcomes...just as we thought. Am J Emerg Med. 1996 Nov;14(7):671-4,

From the MEDLINE abstract:

The poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is a much-maligned plant
which is thought by the public and some health professionals to be
extremely toxic. Despite pronouncements by public health officials
to the contrary, the poinsettia continues to be recognized as a
poisonous plant. To determine if there was any validity to the
toxicity claims, 849,575 plant exposures reported to the American
Association of Poison Control Centers were electronically analyzed.
Poinsettia exposures accounted for 22,793 cases and formed the
subset that was analyzed to critically evaluate the morbidity and
mortality associated with poinsettia exposures. There were no
fatalities among all poinsettia exposures and 98.9% were accidental
in nature, with 93.3% involving children. The majority of exposed
patients (96.1%) were not treated in a health care facility and
92.4% did not develop any toxicity related to their exposure to the
poinsettia. Most patients do not require any type of therapy and
can be treated without referral to a health care facility.


It's a little like the old joke

"Doc, it hurts when I do this"
"Then stop doing it."

There is no medical reason to be afraid of poinsettias. If one is given
to contact dermatitis something, one will find out quickly and avoid it.

My wife is severely allergic to poison ivy; I am not senstive at all -- yet.
Guess who gets sent out every year to clear the paths in the woods around
our place. If and when I become sensitive to poison ivy/oak, I will become
paranoid about avoiding it. Until then, I won't pay much attention.


billo