All parts of the mistletoe plant contain toxic elements. Consumption results in vomiting, stomach pain, and diarrhea. However, ingestion of only 1-2 berries will not result in serious harm to children.

For more on diarrhea in children, one of the presenting symptoms of this ingestion, read verview#showall">here.

Although long believed to be highly toxic and incredibly dangerous, most research has shown that poinsettia ingestions are not a significant medical concern. Some mucous membrane irritation or gastrointestinal (GI) distress may be reported, but such incidents are rare. No treatment is routinely recommended, other than comforting the parents and affected child. Instructions should be provided in the rare case that GI distress does develop.

For more on GI distress in children, read verview#showall">here.

Major findings include new abnormal airway sounds, such as wheezing, stridor, or decreased breath sounds. These sounds are often, but not always, unilateral.

Sounds are inspiratory if the material is in the extrathoracic trachea. If the lesion is in the intrathoracic trachea, noises are symmetrical but sound more prominent in the central airways. These sounds are a coarse wheeze (sometimes referred to as "expiratory stridor") heard with the same intensity all over the chest.

Once the foreign body passes the carina, the breath sounds are usually asymmetrical. However, remember that the young chest transmits sounds very well, and the stethoscope head is often bigger than the lobes. A lack of asymmetry should not dissuade the observer from considering the diagnosis.

For more on the physical examination of a suspected foreign body in the airway, read here.

The need for endoscopic retrieval is a function of battery size. Of batteries that are larger than 15 mm in diameter, 25% require endoscopic retrieval, whereas only 2.8% of smaller batteries require endoscopic retrieval. Endoscopy is successful in 90% of patients with batteries located in the esophagus. Larger size (20-25 mm batteries) is the most important predictor of a clinically significant outcome. For comparison, a dime is 18 mm, a nickel is 21 mm, and a quarter is 25 mm.

For more on disk battery ingestion, read verview#showall">here.

Rose-colored macules on the upper abdomen and hepatosplenomegaly may be seen in S typhi infection. Consumption of undercooked meat/poultry is suspicious for infection with Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shiga toxin-producing E coli, and Clostridium perfringens.

For more on food poisoning, read here.

Editor's Recommendations verview#showall">Pediatric Gastroenteritis in Emergency Medicine Pediatric Airway Foreign Body verview#showall">Diarrhea

 

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Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this article: Richard H. Sinert. Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Holiday-related Dangers? Medscape. Dec 07, 2015.