Medicinal plants. What is cicuta? This is a dangerous poisonous plant.

Milestone poisonous (Cicuta virosa) refers to medicinal plants used by alternative medicine since ancient times. With this herb, you should be as careful as possible, when using small doses, the plant will bring exceptional benefits to the body, and if abused, it can cause death, since by its nature it is highly toxic.

The people of milestones are called poisonous hemlock, cat parsley, cow poison, water hemlock, water rabies, carrots. In this article, you will learn about useful properties plants and the dangers of grass, as well as familiarize yourself with how to use it.

Veh poisonous (lat. Cicúta virósa) is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Veh and the Umbelliferae family, reaching a height of 1.5 meters. Cicuta is endowed with dense, almost rounded vertical rhizomes, hollow, smooth, finely furrowed and branched stems.

Leaves (see photo) - long-petiolate, collected at the base in basal rosettes, complex pinnately dissected, serrated along the edges.


This plant is often confused with spotted hemlock. Hemlock differs from hemlock in the absence of a bluish tint on the stem. In addition, the second, on the lower part of the stem, has dark red spots and powdery coating. More about hemlock.

Flowers (see photo) are five-petalled, white-yellow or white-green, collected in umbellate inflorescences. The fruit is a white, rounded two-seed. Flowering is in the middle summer period, and fruit ripening - at the end of summer.

inflorescence milestone Rhizome Rhizome in section

Eastern and Western Europe, North America, Asia, China, Mongolia, Japan, Russia, Ukraine - habitat. The shores of lakes, rivers, fields, swampy terrain, acidic and clayey soils are places of growth.

Composition and healing power

Despite the fact that water hemlock is poisonous, when used wisely, it can work wonders and even cure cancer. The benefits and healing effects of the herb are due to its rich composition. Cat parsley is rich in:

  • alkaloids;
  • essential oils;
  • cicutol;
  • flavonoids;
  • quercetin.

After numerous studies, it became known about the following effects of the plant: anticonvulsant, diaphoretic, expectorant, diuretic, sedative, anti-inflammatory, hypotensive, analgesic.

Herbal remedies, when used appropriately, contribute to:

Cicuta is used to prepare tinctures, decoctions and ointments effective in the fight against angina pectoris, gout, migraine, convulsions, headaches, CNS disorders, epilepsy, whooping cough, asthma, cancer, paralysis, arthritis, ulcers and dermatitis.

Recipes for effective, centuries-old medicines

In the piggy bank of traditional medicine there are many recipes for preparations from hemlock. However, medicines will help only if they correct application. Before proceeding with the treatment of a particular ailment with the help of a composition of cat parsley, you should make sure that there are no contraindications and consult your doctor about the appropriateness and usefulness of the medicine.

It is extremely important to strictly observe the proportions during the preparation of preparations, and the dosages during use. Abuse of funds, as well as exceeding the recommended dosages, is fraught with critical consequences.

1. Take the dried roots of the plant, grind to a powdery consistency. Pour 10 g of raw materials with 300 ml of boiled water. Set aside a tightly sealed container in heat for three hours. Consume 10 ml of the filtered drug four times a day. This remedy is effective in the fight against any form of hysteria and other disorders. nervous system, bronchial asthma, paralysis, epilepsy, convulsions and stuttering.

2. Pour 10 g of crushed dry rhizomes or the ground part of the plant with alcohol - 250 ml. Close the container tightly and leave in a cold place for three weeks. Treatment with tincture is effective for rheumatism, gout and skin rashes. It is recommended to do compresses.

3. You can also make an ointment for the treatment of pathologies skin(abscesses, rashes), gout and rheumatism. Mix the herb ground to the consistency of the powder milestone, in the amount of one teaspoon with 300 g of melted pork fat. Leave the container in a cool place for a week and a half. Use to lubricate painful areas.

4. From the juice of the plant, you can make an extract that promotes the dissolution of toxins and has a calming effect. Take fresh stems and milestone leaves, fill with water and place the container on the stove. Evaporate the composition to the density of honey over low heat. Next, add hemlock powder to the extract (you should get a mass of clay-like consistency). Form pills, weighing 0.8 grams. Therapy should be started with a minimum dosage, gradually increasing to 1.6 grams. Immediately after drinking the extract, drink tea or elderberry decoction.

Milestone poisonous will help in cancer therapy

The plant is rich in potent poison - cicutin, which slows down the process of cell division. The toxic substance helps in delaying the growth of the neoplasm, eliminating malignant tumors and cancer cells, blocking the reproduction of tumor cells at the initial stage. Compositions from water hemlock are able to eliminate metastases. Cat parsley products are effective in the treatment of cancer at any stage. The use of medicines from hemlock helps in preventing the recurrence of the disease.

It is recommended to use this tincture. Pour a teaspoon of milestone powder into a glass bottle, then pour half a liter of high-quality vodka. Close the container tightly and store in a cool place for two weeks.

The tincture should be taken according to this scheme: on the first day one drop, on the second two. The dosage should be increased by one drop until the twentieth day. Then the dose is reduced. This is followed by a ten-day break and a repetition of the course.

How and when should raw materials be harvested?

For the manufacture of preparations, the herb milestone is used. Unlike the underground part, it is less poisonous. If you want the plant to serve the good and bring exceptional benefits to the body, you need to know how and when to harvest it and how to store it.

Before you start collecting raw materials, you need to take care of your safety. Since the herb is toxic, it should only be collected with protective gloves. Clothing should also be special, long sleeves - an ideal measure to prevent hemlock juice from getting on the skin. When you get home, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

Do not involve children and adolescents in the preparation of raw materials. They are inquisitive, and can, while you are busy, try the "healing herb", which is fraught with severe poisoning.

Grass collection is preferably carried out during the period of intensive flowering. Collect roots for medicinal purposes should be in autumn period, since in the spring the greatest amount of poison is concentrated in the plant.

Then the raw material is poured into tightly closed containers and stored in a cool place. Milestone should be stored separately from other herbs and out of the reach of children.

Overdose: symptoms and first aid

When using high doses of a remedy based on cat parsley, signs of intoxication occur after 5-10 minutes. Plant overdose is characterized by:

  • uncomfortable and painful sensations in the epigastrium;
  • wobbly gait;
  • pre-fainting and fainting states;
  • increased heart rate;
  • pupil dilation;
  • spasms of masticatory muscles;
  • strong salivation;
  • diarrhea
  • indomitable and prolonged vomiting;
  • nausea;
  • headache.

Inappropriate use of funds is fraught with convulsions, foam from the mouth, blanching of the dermis, followed by redness. Death can occur from cardiac or respiratory arrest. Asphyxia during convulsions is also possible. It is possible to save a person's life only by immediately seeking qualified help. There is an algorithm of actions for hemlock poisoning.

  1. Call a doctor.
  2. Interview the victim if he is conscious. If not, interview eyewitnesses. Inspect the scene, pay attention to the presence of parts of the plant in the vomit.
  3. Rinse the stomach and give a cleansing enema. For gastric lavage, use saline or 0.1% potassium permanganate solution. If these resources are not available, use plain water.
  4. Give the victim black coffee.
  5. Give the patient a sorbent (activated carbon, Polysorb).
  6. If you find the victim unconscious, check for breathing and pulse. If there are no signs of life, be prepared to carry out resuscitation measures: artificial respiration and indirect heart massage.

There is no antidote for the milestone poison, so the therapy of the pathology is symptomatic. After transporting the patient to the hospital, hemosorption is carried out (it helps to cleanse the blood of poisons). Anticonvulsant therapy is carried out, as well as intravenous administration glucose.

Some historical data

The strength and properties of hemlock have been known to mankind since ancient times. Previously, it was believed that the death of the great ancient Greek philosopher Socrates is due to exposure to the poison of a milestone - before his death, he drank a goblet with a toxic substance. Modern scientists believe that the clinical picture of the death of the philosopher, restored according to Plato's detailed description, was provoked by a completely different plant - spotted hemlock.

Cicuta was used in both ancient and medieval medicine. The Codex Salerno contains entries on the use of herbs in the fight against ophthalmic ailments, purulent rashes, and gout.

There are also many tragic cases of poisoning with plant poisons. Earlier and to this day, children suffer from hemlock poisoning, who confuse grass with other edible ones or constantly make pipe milestones from hollow stems. It happens that adults bring a toxic plant home, confusing it with wild parsley or celery.

Despite its high toxicity, milestone has been used and continues to be used for medicinal purposes. The plant does not belong to the pharmacopoeial, it is not welcomed by official medicine. But despite this, the herb is used by adherents of alternative medicine, as it has hypotensive, diuretic and sedative properties.

Contraindications

Due to the fact that the herb is poisonous, it is possible to use preparations from it only after prior consultation with the attending physician. The use of the plant is contraindicated in case of individual intolerance, pregnancy and breastfeeding. Medicines should not be given to children and the elderly. The compositions of hemlock are not recommended for people suffering from pathologies such as hypotension and heart failure.

With the appropriate use of milestones, it will bring exceptional benefits to the body and relieve one or another ailment. The main thing is not to abuse the compounds and take them in the recommended doses.

The generic name probably comes from Greek word cyein - empty, because its rhizome is hollow inside; Latin virosus - poisonous.

Other plant names:

Brief description of milestone poisonous:

Milestone poisonous (hemlock) - this is a perennial naked herbaceous plant 50–150 cm high. The rhizome is short, thick, vertical, hollow inside, divided by transverse partitions into separate chambers, planted over the entire surface with white, cord-like, juicy roots up to 0.5 cm thick.

The rhizome has a spicy smell and a somewhat sweetish taste; when cut, a light yellow, very poisonous resinous juice darkens in the air, causing severe poisoning (in 50% of cases, fatal). A hollow rhizome is a sign of a milestone poisonous.

The stem is finely furrowed, branched in the upper part, hollow. The leaves along the edges are sharp-toothed, double-pinnate, the lower ones are almost triple-pinnate. The upper leaves are short-petiolate, the lower ones are long-petiolate, the inflorescence is a complex umbrella 5–12 cm in diameter with 10–25 rays. The involucre is absent or consists of 8–12 lanceolate or linear leaflets. Flowers numerous, white. Calyx with 5 leaf-shaped wide triangular teeth. Petals obovate, narrowed towards the base, notched at the apex, with a narrow inwardly curved lobule. The fruit is a two-seed, rounded with a heart-shaped base, 1.5–2 mm long, splitting into 2 semi-fruits, on which there are 5 longitudinal, flat, blunt ribs with hollows in between them.

Flowering in June-August, fruiting in August-September.

Places of growth:

It grows in alder forests, on sedge, peat, shrub and grass bogs, damp meadows, swampy banks of rivers and lakes, sometimes in the water itself in all regions of the European part of Russia, in Siberia and on Far East, in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Harvesting milestone:

For medicinal purposes, grass (stems, leaves, flowers), as well as roots, is used. Collect the aerial part (grass) during flowering and dry in the shade on outdoors or in attics. Roots and rhizomes are harvested in autumn and dried in well-ventilated areas.

Healers advise collecting milestones when Saturn is in the constellation of Mars or the Sun. Then, in their opinion, it destroys dandruff, and the liquid extracted from it heals rheumatism and counteracts excessive suffering of the chest and abdomen.

The chemical composition of milestone poisonous:

The rhizome and roots contain nitrogen-free toxic substances - cicutotoxin (up to 0.2% in fresh, 3.5% in dry roots), cicutol, as well as non-toxic essential oil. yellow color, which includes p-cymene, cumic aldehyde. Flavonoids (quercetin and kaempferol), alkaloids, polyacetylene compounds were found in the leaves. All parts of hemlock contain the deadly substance cicutin. Especially a lot of it in the rhizome. Even in dried hemlock, the poison is not destroyed and is also dangerous.

All these active substances form the basis of the chemical composition of the milestone poisonous (hemlock).

Pharmacological properties of milestone poisonous:

The pharmacological properties of milestone are determined by its chemical composition.

Roots and rhizomes in small doses have a calming effect, depressing the central nervous system and motor activity, lower arterial pressure slightly increase urination.

Application of milestone in medicine, milestone treatment:

With gout, rheumatism, pain in the limbs and joints, sciatica, sciatica, inflammation of the sciatic nerve, with skin diseases(psoriasis, lichen, scrofula;

epithelioma, eczema, fungal skin lesions, chronic small rashes) is used as an external remedy (as an ointment and tincture) herb with roots and rhizomes is a milestone in folk medicine.

With nervous disorders, epilepsy and convulsions of the postpartum period, with hysteria and stuttering, mental disorders, headaches, migraines, dizziness, with angina pectoris and palpitations - in very small doses with great care, plant preparations are sometimes prescribed orally.

Dosage forms, method of administration and doses of drugs milestone poisonous:

From grass (stems, leaves, flowers) and roots, milestones are made effective medications and forms used in the treatment of many diseases. Let's consider the main ones.

Tincture of herb milestone poisonous:

Tincture of grass milestone poisonous: pour grass with vodka in a ratio of 1:50, leave for 7 days, strain. Take 1 drop with water 2-3 times daily before meals.

Russian doctors prescribed the tincture for those who fell ill with meningitis, colds, pulmonary tuberculosis, bronchial asthma, and whooping cough.

Infusion of herbs or milestone roots:

An infusion of the herb or roots has been used in the treatment of cancer of various locations.

Contraindications milestone poisonous:

It is not recommended to use medicines from a milestone on your own without extensive experience and sufficient knowledge!

Weh is one of the most poisonous plants. The whole plant is dangerous, both fresh and dried. Depending on the season and climatic conditions toxicity changes. In spring, the rhizome with roots is more poisonous, which has a spicy smell and a somewhat sweetish taste. Cicuta is insidious with its pleasant carrot smell and rhizome, which tastes like a turnip or radish. 100–200 g of rhizome is enough to kill a cow, and 50–100 g kill a sheep, but larks and quails calmly, without harm to their health and life, peck at the seeds of a poisonous milestone. Juice mixed with wine yeast makes the birds lethargic. Hemlock emits a characteristic smell of celery and parsley, and this circumstance may serve as a reason for inexperienced people to try to eat it.

Symptoms of poisoning appear a few minutes after ingestion, since cicutotoxin is very quickly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. The poison of the hemlock has a pronounced convulsive effect and affects mainly the central nervous system.

The poisonous effect of hemlock develops very quickly. 5-10 minutes after the first piece of rhizome (in any form) was swallowed, a person becomes ill. After a short malaise, the main signs of poisoning quickly develop: headache, dizziness, general weakness, profuse salivation, nausea, and vomiting. Soon consciousness is lost, and convulsive seizures begin, the frequency of which depends on the amount of poison that has entered the body. Usually during convulsions, thick saliva and foam are released from the mouth. Attacks of convulsions are repeated at short intervals: at this time, there is gnashing of teeth, screaming, there may be respiratory arrest. Death occurs from paralysis of the respiratory center or asphyxia during convulsions.

Carrying out therapeutic measures is difficult due to the fact that the victim has strongly clenched teeth.

Information received from eyewitnesses or an examination of the scene usually helps to recognize poisoning: hemlock poison acts so quickly that the poisoned person does not have time to go far.

To prevent the absorption of cicutotoxin, an intensive gastric lavage is carried out with solutions of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) and artificial vomiting is caused (1 ml of a 1% solution of apomorphine hydrochloride is injected subcutaneously); make cleansing enemas. The purpose is also shown activated carbon(up to 3 tablespoons per 0.5 liters of water). In addition to high enemas, saline laxatives are used - magnesium or sodium sulfate (up to 30 g in 1-3 glasses of water). In severe condition, these drugs are administered through a gastric tube. Water loading is not contraindicated.

As a detoxification agent and to enhance liver function, a 25% or 40% glucose solution (10 ml intravenously), corticosteroids, gemodez are administered. The phenomena of acidosis are eliminated by the introduction of a 4% solution of sodium bicarbonate (1-2 liters intravenously, drip).

For convulsions, chloral hydrate is prescribed in enemas with mucus (0.5 l each) or barbamyl (0.4 g 2-3 times a day). In addition, droperidol (1-2 ml of a 0.25% solution intramuscularly) and aminalon (gammalon - 1 g 3 times a day or 5 ml intravenously in a 5% solution) can be used.

In case of poisoning with all plant poisons that led to a coma due to the development of uremia, a 5% aminalon solution is administered (15–20 ml in 500 ml of isotonic sodium chloride solution or 5% glucose solution intravenously, drip).

To normalize the function of the cardiovascular system and respiration, a 20% solution of sodium caffeine benzoate (up to 2 ml subcutaneously), a 20% camphor solution (up to 2 ml subcutaneously), a 10% solution of corazol (2 ml subcutaneously) are used. . With bradycardia - 0.1% solution of atropine sulfate (1 ml subcutaneously). It is not excluded the appointment of cardiac glycosides (strophanthin, corglicon), mesotone, norepinephrine hydrotartrate.

A bit of history:

Odo of Mena, in his treatise On the Properties of Herbs, wrote:


The deadly hemlock has natural cold strength,

And therefore, if you drink, it will kill you like cold poisons.

Spotted skin is covered in those who died from hemlock.

(We will be able to confirm death from it by signs of this.)


If the one who took hemlock turned out to be at the death line,

Let it be clean, warmed up, he will drink wine -

No matter how harmful it is, if it is drunk,

But apply - and it will be an excellent tool;


Eye inflammation in the summer, she heals perfectly,

If you put green grated leaves on your forehead

Or you will smear sore eyes with its juice.

She expels purulent rashes and the sacred fire.


Anakoplay reports that


if the girl is more often

Her breasts will be anointed with her juice, then, for the first time

Breasts swollen, then permanently remain normal.

Grated hemlock greens in the breasts dry up the milk,

It extinguishes desire with the outflow of every seed,

If you often rub your pubis with grated hemlock.


In its purest form, I approved it for pain in the ankle.

The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, convicted of dissent, drank a bowl of "state poison" - the juice of poisonous hemlock. So called in ancient times different kinds hemlock. One of them, the water hemlock, or poisonous milestone, will be discussed in the proposed article. The reader will learn what the plant looks like, what species it can be confused with, why it is dangerous and how it is used in folk medicine and homeopathy.

Herbs of the Celery family (Umbrella) are similar to each other: large rhizomes, hollow stems, heavily dissected leaves, umbrella inflorescences with small white flowers. Belonging to this family, the herb milestones - perennial, which is often confused with celery, parsley and angelica. Distinctive feature milestone is its rhizome. It is white, located vertically in the soil, inside is divided into small cavities containing a yellowish liquid - the same “hemlock juice”.

From others morphological features milestone important:

  • reddish bloom on stems reaching 1.5 m;
  • a significant decrease in leaf size towards the top of the plant;
  • inflorescences - double umbrellas;
  • staminate flowers are often found in lateral umbels;
  • fruits are ribbed achenes characteristic of umbrella.

From the spotted hemlock, which is now considered the more likely killer of Socrates, the poisonous milestone is distinguished by the absence of wrappers on the rays of the main umbrella.

Cicuta - poisonous plant

The chemical composition of a poisonous plant

Poisonous milestone, or hemlock, is one of the most toxic representatives of the flora of the temperate zone. The rhizomes, roots and other parts of the plant contain the oily substance cicutoxin - up to 3.5% by dry weight - which determines the danger to the body. The plant also contains:

  • flavonoids isorhamnetin and quercetin with antioxidant action;
  • metabolically active terpenes, pinene, phelandrene;
  • cicutol essential oil, which is associated with the smell of grass.

Cases of hemlock poisoning are due to the fact that in appearance and taste it is similar to edible species. Children sometimes carve out a stem of a poisonous pipe or a shooting pipe from the stem. In the spring, starving cattle eats all the grass indiscriminately, including the rapidly growing umbrella ones. Haymaking in wetlands can introduce dangerous grasses into the winter forage.

Where does a poisonous plant grow?

A wide ribbon encircles the area of ​​the milestone temperate latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Cikuta is found in the north of Europe and the USA, in the south of Canada, throughout Russia, partly in Mongolia, China, even Japan. The plant loves an excess of water, gravitates towards swamps, ditches, flood meadows, low banks.

Cicuta gained fame extremely harmful plant for reservoirs, especially in those areas where there is building. It is destroyed directly or reduced in numbers by draining the swamps. For this reason, in some regions, for example, in the Rostov region, milestones have become so rare that they are listed in the Red Book.

Application milestone poisonous

Milestone poisonous is extremely dangerous, is not included in the State Pharmacopoeia and is not used in official medicine. Its use is possible only in traditional medicine and homeopathy, and is accompanied by a serious risk to health.

On the basis of a poisonous milestone, folk healers prepare drugs offered for:

  • joint diseases;
  • epilepsy, convulsions and paresis;
  • inflammation of the sciatic nerve;
  • enlarged lymph nodes;
  • angina pectoris and hypertension.

Homeopaths use remedies based on hemlock in high dilution for clinical manifestations of tetanus, chronic migraines. However, the founder of homeopathy Samuel Hahnemann himself argued that this plant can only be used when all other remedies have been tried and failed.

There is evidence that cicutoxin inhibits the processes of cell division, which makes it possible to study the possibilities of its use in the treatment of cancer. Unlike chemotherapy, low doses of cicutoxin do not affect the liver and gallbladder, hair follicles.

Medicinal properties and harm milestone poisonous

The active ingredient milestone is a strong neurotoxin that inhibits the activity of the nervous system. ethnoscience considers it possible to use plant preparations in extremely low doses, using the properties of hemlock to lower blood pressure and enhance kidney activity.

However, a feature of cicutoxin is its ability to accumulate in tissues. Systematic overdoses, albeit in small volumes, lead to heart failure.

The lethal dose for an adult is 50 mg of fresh herb or rhizome, for a child it is much less. The first symptoms of poisoning are sharp pains in the abdomen, indomitable vomiting, headache, loss of skin sensitivity, and disorder of the cerebellum. Death occurs within hours of respiratory arrest.

Collection, harvesting and storage of plants

The rhizomes and roots of hemlock are deadly poisonous, therefore, for medicinal purposes, the aerial part is harvested, which retains all the pharmacological properties of the plant. Work is carried out in tight clothes and gloves so that the hemlock juice does not get on the skin. The shoots are cut with a sharp knife, then laid out in one layer on paper or a baking sheet, dried in a well-ventilated place protected from the sun.

Store the dried leaves of milestone in tightly closed paper bags labeled: "Poisonous!", Ensure that children do not have access to it. After any manipulations with hemlock, wash your hands thoroughly.

Folk recipes with poisonous milestone

For getting tinctures from a milestone

  • take 10 g of dry chopped grass and pour 0.5 liters of vodka,
  • insist two weeks.

Tincture is drunk in the treatment of cancerous tumors according to a complex scheme. On the first day, take 1 drop in the morning and evening, on the second - 2 drops each, and so increase the number of drops until the 11th day. In the following days, the number of drops is reduced by 1 at each dose. On the 21st day, take 1 drop in the morning and evening, and this is where the course of treatment ends.

A mixture of tincture (20 ml) with vaseline and lanolin (50 g each) turns into ointment , which is used to treat gout and rheumatism, non-healing dermatitis. The Greek hetaera Thais of Athens, sung by Ivan Efremov, enlarged and strengthened her breasts with a similar ointment.

The hemlock hides modestly in the depths of the swamps, as if it does not want to poison an inexperienced person. Its properties are not fully understood, but there is hope that this powerful grass with spreading umbrellas of inflorescences will stand in a row medicinal plants used in the fight against cancer.

Milestone poisonous is a plant with big amount poisons in the composition. This plant is very dangerous for both children and adults.

The negative qualities of a milestone have long been known. In ancient times, the Egyptians used it to punish convicts who were threatened with the death penalty.

In order not to get poisoned from a plant, you should know what kind of appearance with what it is in general, who is most exposed to bad influences, what are the very first symptoms of intoxication, what should be done, what to provide first aid to a poisoned person.

This plant belongs to a number of perennials. The grass reaches enough large sizes, the height can reach up to 1-1.5 m. Another name for the poisonous milestone is cat parsley, hemlock, swamp omega. Root this plant not long, thick. If the top of the stem is cut, it will be hollow.

The leaves of hemlock are narrow, they have veins that divide the leaf into segments. The edges of the leaves are serrated, sharp. Blooms with umbrella flowers. The color of the flowers is white, in some cases there may be a yellow tint.


Milestone poisonous

This plant is common in areas where there is a fairly humid environment. It can be found near rivers, in swamps. Flowering begins in early summer, after the milestone fades, fruits appear in place of the flowers. If you pick the hemlock and carefully rub it in your hands, you can feel a powerful, not very pleasant smell. When rubbed, thick yellow juice will stand out.

Toxic substances are found in all parts of the milestone. The root and stem are sweetish, they are especially dangerous in early spring and autumn.

The root of this plant contains the maximum amount of poison. Death occurs in approximately 60% of cases of intoxication.

If the rhizome is dried, then the concentration of toxic substances in it will increase even more.

The poisonous properties of this herb are provoked by the presence in its composition of such toxic substances as cicuto and cicutoxin. These components are so strong that 100 g of hemlock rhizomes is enough for deadly intoxication of livestock.

For a person, a lethal outcome is possible with the use of 50 g of poisonous milestone per 1 kg of weight.

Hemlock toxins are quite persistent, even if the plant is subjected to certain treatments - drying, freezing, boiling, then the toxic properties will not be reduced or eliminated.

The substance cicutoxin affects the central nervous system, prevents the production of the necessary biologically active component of GABA. Cicutosin and cicutol are components that excite the nervous system.

In addition to toxic substances, a yellow essential oil is present in the plant in question. He has a large number of poisons. The leaves of the plant contain alkaloids and flavonoids. Due to these components, hemlock has found its use for medicinal purposes.

Application

Although milestone is a toxic plant, it is still used in homeopathy and alternative medicine. Since ancient times, the juice of this plant has been used to obtain an ointment that increases the size of the breast.

In small doses, tansy can be used as a homeopathic remedy to eliminate worms, eczema, migraine, as an antispasmodic after concussion of the spinal cord and brain.

IN therapeutic purposes only leaves are used, in other parts there are many toxins.

In alternative medicine, the plant is used in the form of ointments, tinctures. Tinctures treat problems such as whooping cough, paralysis, psychosis. Tinctures are intended for internal use. Topical application is also allowed - for the treatment of osteochondrosis and arthritis. Before using a milestone, you should consult a doctor; you should not prescribe treatment for yourself.

In the course of some studies, it was found that the active ingredients that are in this plant have an antitumor effect. They contribute to the inhibition of tumor development, destroys cancer cells. But tansy cannot be used alone for the treatment and prevention of such serious diseases, because its toxic substances are very dangerous.

The use of milestone in traditional medicine is not very common. Specialists have released the Cicutin product, which contains components obtained from the plant in question, but they are purified from poisons that pose a danger to human health and life.

This drug is used in oncological practice.

Everyone can suffer from hemlock (another name for milestone), but most often it happens to children and animals. You can accidentally eat it with greens, with other herbs, and children can eat this grass out of ignorance, because they are interested in everything.

The rhizome of hemlock resembles carrots, and there are also similarities in smell. There have been cases when children ate this plant, confusing it with carrots.

What is the danger milestone? Its toxins act very quickly. Even if a person eats a small amount of a plant, acute symptoms of poisoning may occur. Poison can get not only inside, it can penetrate into the body even through scratches and cuts, which get juice.

Signs of poisoning

The very first symptoms begin to make themselves felt almost immediately after the poison enters the body. There is discomfort in the stomach, this organ can be very painful. If a person walks, then his gait becomes quite shaky.


Dizziness is a clear sign of poisoning with a poisonous milestone

After that, other signs of poisoning begin to appear:

  • There is a severe headache;
  • The head begins to spin, the person may lose balance;
  • The pulse quickens;
  • Increased production of salivary fluid;
  • Diarrhea develops;
  • Prolonged and indomitable vomiting;
  • Pupils become wide;
  • There are spasms of chewing muscles.

A person who has been poisoned behaves like a very drunk person.

If the poisoning is strong enough, then foam from the mouth is added to all the previously indicated symptoms. Paleness of the skin, which is replaced by redness, fainting, convulsions. Death is possible due to cardiac or respiratory arrest.

How to act in case of poisoning?

In case of intoxication with this plant, it is possible to save a human life only if you react very quickly and seek help from doctors.

The first thing to do in this case is to call the ambulance team. To differentiate poisoning from another condition, you should ask the poisoned person or the people who were next to him. It is also important to pay attention to the presence of pieces of grass in the vomit.

While the ambulance is on the way, you can also provide first aid yourself.

Therapy for all food poisoning should start with gastric lavage. This important event, it should be done as soon as possible.

After washing, an enema should be given. For gastric lavage, a solution of potassium permanganate or at least plain water should be used. In this case, the process can be complicated by the fact that there is a spasm of the masticatory muscles. Washing must be done as quickly as possible, because every second more and more poisons penetrate the bloodstream, worsening the human condition.


A person who has been poisoned should be given laxatives to drink, it is better if they are saline. Also mandatory intake of enterosorbents. These substances bind poisons in the gastrointestinal tract and prevent their penetration into the bloodstream.

If a poisoned person has lost consciousness, then the first thing to do is to check whether the person is breathing, whether his heart is beating. If all this is absent, then you need to do artificial respiration and indirect massage of the heart muscle.

Unfortunately, there is no antidote for the poison of this plant, so therapy involves only symptomatic measures, but they help save a person's life.

In the hospital, the patient's blood is cleansed of poisons, glucose is dripped, and glucocorticosteroid therapy is prescribed.

If respiratory function has been impaired, then respiratory analeptic drugs are used.

conclusions

Milestone poisonous is found everywhere, it is a very dangerous herb. It is clear that most adults still will not eat anything. But you can't say the same about children. They are so curious and that's why they can try it dangerous plant.

It is very easy to get intoxicated after consuming a poisonous milestone. Moreover, poisoning is possible even if the juice of the plant gets on scratches or wounds.

Poisons of hemlock can penetrate into the meat of livestock. And if you eat infected meat, you can also get poisoned. Symptoms of poisoning appear very quickly. Therefore, you need to act as quickly as possible.

Violation of respiratory functions, vomiting, dizziness, convulsive syndrome require urgent action. Because there is no antidote for poisons, only symptomatic treatment is carried out.

If symptoms are detected in a timely manner, perform a gastric lavage, make an enema, give the poisoned person to use enterosorbents, saline laxatives, coffee, then a human life can be saved.

Milestone poisonous(Cicuta virosa) is a very poisonous plant of the umbrella family. Many people confused this plant with angelica, and its young shoots are very similar to gout (edible wild plants).

Once I saw an article in the newspaper, it said about several water tourists who were poisoned by this plant. They mistakenly took it for an edible wild plant. Several people died after eating the root. This is a very dangerous plant from which it is better to stay away. I advise unknowing people should not touch the plants of the umbrella family with their hands at all. Let's talk in more detail about the poisonous milestone.

Milestone poisonous-perennial herbaceous plant, smells of celery (the smell is deceptive). The plant blooms in July-August. It has a thick root. According to legend, Socrates was poisoned by hemlock.

Where does poisonous milestone grow?

Cicuta, or poisonous milestone, loves wet wetlands, very often grows right in a pond (near the coast), is found in swamps. This plant cannot be found in dry meadows

The chemical composition of the plant

The plant contains the alkaloid cicutotoxin, which is able to paralyze breathing, the alkaloid cicutin, essential oils, etc.

How to distinguish this plant

This plant is very easy to identify by its rhizome. The root is very thick, divided by partitions into separate chambers. The plant is very easily pulled out of the ground. The stem is hollow. Umbrellas with 10-20 smooth rays (flowers). Hemlock root has a sweetish taste (according to rumors). The rhizome is the most poisonous part of the plant. Especially in spring, when the concentration of poison is maximum.


Symptoms of poisoning

After 15 minutes, vomiting begins, abdominal pain, pupils are dilated, cardiac depression, the pulse is very frequent, convulsions, respiratory paralysis .. A very dangerous plant

First aid

Gastric lavage, give a laxative and activated charcoal. And urgently to the hospital. There is already infusion therapy, glucocorticoids (hormones), hemosorption (blood purification).

The plant is used in folk medicine. Only an experienced person can use it. A very, very poisonous plant.

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