Is Gastrodia elata really poisonous?

1. The whole body is full of poison

The entire body of the herb is poisonous, with the roots and leaves being the most toxic. Its toxicity mainly comes from the gelemine it contains. It is highly toxic to the human nervous system. Once people accidentally eat it, it will suppress the human nervous system and even cause the heart to stop beating.

After eating the herb, people will feel a burning sensation in the mouth and throat, vomit, and feel as if their intestines are about to break. These are just manifestations of the suppression of the nervous system.

2. Emergency measures after poisoning

After eating the herb, people will feel constant abdominal pain, their intestines will turn black and stick together, and they will eventually die from abdominal pain. If poisoning is discovered, seek medical attention immediately. If the hospital is far away and the situation is critical, there are several emergency measures:

1. Use chicken or duck feathers dipped in cooking oil to wipe the patient's throat to induce vomiting, and then feed peanut oil after vomiting;

2. Take fresh duck or goose blood;

3. Mix duck egg white and peanut oil and take orally;

4. Mash the stems and leaves of honeysuckle together and add brown sugar to drink;

5. Take mung bean soup orally. There is currently no good treatment method, and the general methods used are gastric lavage, adsorption of poisons, and vomiting.

In addition, some people found that sheep did not die after eating the herb Gnaphalium, and that administering fresh sheep blood also had a good therapeutic effect.

3. Medicinal Value

Although the whole body of Gelsemium elegans is poisonous, it is actually a traditional Chinese medicine and its entire body can be used as medicine. Because Gelsemium elegans is highly toxic, it is generally not taken orally and is made into an external medicine. External use has a good effect on skin diseases such as eczema, tinea corporis, tinea pedis, and surgical diseases such as rheumatism, bone pain, and contusions.

4. Ornamental Value

Although Gelsemium elegans is a highly poisonous plant, it looks very beautiful. Every spring when all flowers are in full bloom, Gelsemium elegans also blooms beautiful flowers. Its flowers look very similar to honeysuckle, with clusters of small yellow flowers.

However, since the whole plant of Gelsemium elegans is poisonous, it is best not to pick it. You can only look at it from a distance and not play with it.