Poisonous ingredients include:

• Deslanoside
• Digitoxin
• Digitalis glycoside

The poisonous substances are found in:

• Flowers, leaves, stems, and seeds of the foxglove plant
• Heart medicine (digitalis glycoside)

Symptoms for the heart and blood include:

• Irregular or slow heartbeat
• Collapse
• Low blood pressure (shock)

Other possible symptoms include:

• Blurred vision
• Confusion
• Depression
• Disorientation or hallucinations
• Halos around objects (yellow, green, white)
• Headache
• Lethargy
• Loss of appetite
• Rash or hives
• Stomach pain
• Vomiting, nausea, or diarrhea
• Weakness or drowsiness

Hallucinations, loss of appetite, and halos are most often seen in people who have been poisoned over a long period of time.

Seek immediate medical help. DO NOT make a person throw up unless told to do so by poison control or a health care provider.

Get the following information:

• Person's age, weight, and condition
• Name of the plant or medicine, if known
• Time it was swallowed
• Amount swallowed

Your local poison control center can be reached directly by calling the national toll-free Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.

This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the United States use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does not need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The provider will measure and monitor the person's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure. Symptoms will be treated as appropriate. The person may receive:

• Activated charcoal
• Blood and urine tests
• Breathing support, including oxygen through a tube through the mouth into the lungs, and a breathing machine (ventilator)
• Chest x-ray
• ECG (electrocardiogram or heart tracing)
• Fluids through a vein (IV)
• Laxatives
• Medicines to treat symptoms, possibly including an antidote to help reverse the effects of the poison

How well you do depends on the amount of poison swallowed and how quickly treatment is received. The faster you get medical help, the better the chance for recovery.

Symptoms last for 1 to 3 days and may require a hospital stay. Death is unlikely.

DO NOT touch or eat any plant with which you are not familiar. Wash your hands after working in the garden or walking in the woods.

Willow-leaved foxglove poisoning; Revebjelle poisoning

Graeme KA. Toxic plant ingestions. In: Auerbach PS, Cushing TA, Harris NS, eds. Auerbach's Wilderness Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2017:chap 65.

Lim CS, Aks SE. Plants, herbal medications, and mushrooms. In: Walls RM, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 153.

Theobald JL, Kostic MA. Poisoning. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, Shah SS, Tasker RC, Wilson KM, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 21st ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 77.

Updated by: Jesse Borke, MD, CPE, FAAEM, FACEP, Attending Physician at Kaiser Permanente, Orange County, CA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.