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Allergens in Milkweed

A typical milkweed plant grows throughout the year in most regions of the United States and provides nectar for butterflies and bees. Milkweed gets its name from the milky substance secreted when the plant's stems break open. All parts of the plant contain varying amounts of toxins, which most humans and animals find highly allergic.

  1. Toxins

    • Resinoids -- sticky fluids that some plants produce -- are one source of allergic irritation within the milkweed plant. Most milkweeds contain resinoids, and these can cause atopic dermatitis, an inflammation of the skin, in susceptible individuals. Some milkweeds contain enough toxins to cause fatal poisonings. These plants contain high levels of glucosidic substances known as cardenolides. Cardenolides cause electrolyte imbalances within the heart. These imbalances cause serious arrhythmias, which can lead to cardiac failure.

    Plant Identification

    • It helps for allergic individuals to recognize milkweed, to avoid potential allergic reactions. While milkweed grows mostly in the wild, some people cultivate it for landscaping purposes. Look for a plant with narrow or broad green leaves; slender stems; and umbrellalike clusters of flowers in red, yellow or greenish-white that attract bees and butterflies. This perennial can bear blossoms and fruit at the same time. Its fruits appear as inflated pods, 3 to 5 inches in length.

    Symptoms

    • After skin comes in contact with the sticky, milky sap of the milkweed plant, allergic individuals will experience itching, redness, burning or pain in those areas, and possibly eye irritation if some of the sap is inadvertently rubbed into the area surrounding the eyes. After consuming milkweed, a person may experience nausea, salivation, vomiting, incoordination and weakness followed by respiratory distress; cardiac disturbances; spasms; and, finally, death.

    Solutions

    • Humans with known milkweed allergies must avoid the plant as much as possible. If the sap causes skin irritation, then completely cleanse the skin and use hydrocortisone ointment to reduce redness and itching. Humans must never ingest milkweed, and most animals will not eat it unless no other food sources are available. To kill milkweed, apply a 2,4-D plus picloram herbicide, or spot spray weeds with glyphosate. Don't feed sheep, cattle or horses hay that contains milkweed, as it remains toxic when dried.

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