Seven-year-old Rayden Vollrath was hospitalised after handling pokeweed while clearing overgrowth in his family’s Illinois garden without gloves. His mother said plant sap may have reached his face after he scratched it, causing a severe allergic reaction that developed into anaphylactic shock; the case highlights the risks posed by toxic plants during routine gardening.

Rayden reportedly developed burning, itching and swelling within hours, with chest pain and breathing difficulties, and spent two days in hospital. Doctors attributed the reaction to pokeweed contact, and he was discharged on 23 August with an EpiPen and eight medications; pokeweed, identifiable by pink-red stems and dark purple berries, is poisonous to people and animals, with all parts of the plant potentially harmful.