FYI: Calcium Oxylate Crystals

15 years ago

Someone asked what these were in my thread on my EE injury, so I looked it up. Wikipedia has a great article on it.

These crystals are tiny little crystals that are very sharp. They pierce your skin wherever they touch and make tiny little cuts, like being pricked by 1,000 needles all at once.

This is part of what it says:

"Even a small dose of calcium oxalate is enough to cause intense sensations of burning in the mouth and throat, swelling, and choking. In larger doses, however, calcium oxalate causes severe digestive upset, breathing difficulties and Â if enough is consumed Â convulsions, coma and death. Recovery from severe oxalate poisoning is possible, but permanent liver and kidney damage may have occurred.

The stalk of the Dieffenbachia produces the most severe reactions. These needle-like crystals produce pain and edema when they contact lips, tongue, oral mucosa, conjunctiva, or skin. Edema primarily is due to direct trauma from the needle-like crystals and, to a lesser extent, by other plant toxins (e.g. bradykinins, enzymes)."

The ONLY treatment, according to Poison Control is ice or cold ice cream or milk, which helps dissolve the crystals (milk acids, I suppose)

Boiling for a certain length of time dissolves the crystals, that's why you can eat EE ears and roots, but DO NOT try to eat them raw! If my incident is any indication of what would happen to you, and it was mild (didn't feel mild!), it would be horrendous!

I found some Cepacol spray and some Chloraseptic lozenges that helped with the pain, thank heaven!

Here's a link to the wiki article

Here is a link that might be useful: Calcium Oxylate Wikipedia Article

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Comments (12)

laura1
15 years ago
Wow, that is some bad stuff! I had no idea. Thanks for the education...but I'm sorry about your personal experience. Are you still hurting? How long does it take until you start to feel better?
wildworldwoman
15 years ago
I surely was clueless about EE's, that's for sure! Thank you, junkyardgirl, for sharing your painful experience and hopefully preventing others and ME, from repeating your mistake!

Namaste!
Langley
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My father, when he was about four years old _ and thus this is a famous story in my family _ decided he and his little cousin should start chewing tobacco like the adult men around them did. This was in the 40s in a very rural part of Florida. Well, they chose elephant ear for this illicit project. They chewed and chewed, until it started to hurt. My grandmother told me about rinsing out their mouths. That's all she did. They survived. Dad was stunned when he later learned, as a science reporter, that elephant ear could kill children. My grandmother, when I asked her about it, said she always knew it was mildly poison, but never expected the toddler to decide to eat it because it didn't look good to eat. And she pointed out that dad survived. Makes sense to me. Susannah
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You got me worried so I looked it up. Apparently oxalic acid is not an issue for healthy people but can be an issue in some cases "What Is Oxalic Acid? Oxalic acid is a naturally occurring chemical in plants and animals and is also consumed in a variety of different foods such as leafy greens, nuts, seeds, most berries, certain fruits, soy and soy products, meat and dairy products. In large amounts, oxalic acid is poisonous, but toxic levels are not found in foods that we normally eat. The main controversy surrounding oxalic acid in food is whether or not they contribute to the formation of kidney stones. About 80% of the kidney stones formed by adults in the U.S.A. are composed of calcium oxalate. Oxalic acid binds with other minerals such as calcium which form a salt known as an oxalate. Oxalic acid interferes with the absorption of calcium in foods because they bind with it, making it unusable by your body. Without oxalic acid, foods such as spinach and kale would have a much higher, bio-available calcium content than they do because it is bound up with oxalic acid. These oxalates are usually passed though the urine but in vulnerable individuals, they may crystallize, forming larger stones that cause excruciating pain and require medical attention." And some detailed information on oxalates from WHole Foods Here is a link that might be useful: Oxalates
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As for whether the crystals are soluble in water, get a glass of water and find out. There are, in fact, a number of fungal species that precipitate calcium oxalate crystals from their hyphae. I also find references to slime molds with calcium carbonate crystals on the fruiting bodies. More research might be necessary to really figure out what created these crystals, but I don't see any reason to doubt it was a decomposing organism that created them, if all sources of contamination are reasonably ruled out.
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tony_k_orlando
15 years ago
I have had kidney stones and THIS is what mine were made of. No FUN !
fawnridge (Ricky)
15 years ago
Interesting about the Diffenbachia, I've been growing and handling the plant for almost 40 years and never had a reaction. Pure luck? Of course, I never put my hands in my mouth, nose, or ears while working in the garden and I never wear gloves. But I'm always washing my hands while I'm out there.
gatormomx2
15 years ago
Now I know why the cows would never touch Elephant Ears .
They knew it meant instant agony and intense pain .
And thanks to you - now I know .
You learn something new every single day on this forum .
Gotta love it !
nikkers
15 years ago
I read an interesting fact about Dieffernbachia a while back. Dumb Cane is a common name for it. It originated from the practice by some native peoples of S. America of dosing their runners with the plant. It caused swelling of the tongue and throat. If these messengers were carrying a secret message (verbal of course) and were captured by an enemy, they were not able to relay the message. Must have been painful for the poor runner!
junkyardgirl
Original Author
15 years ago
My tongue and throat are still quite sore, but nothing unbearable. I'm living on chloraseptic tablets. LOL

Ouch about the runners! It only last 24-48 hours, I hear, but mine is still sore. Guess sometimes it lasts longer.
wile_e_coyote
15 years ago
As a side note, ethylene glycol (antifreeze) toxicity kills because the chemical reaction that occurs in the body causes calcium oxalate crystals to form in the kidneys, permanently damaging the kidneys. Cats are more sensitive to antifreeze than dogs and a very small amount can be deadly. Protect your cats and cats in your neighborhood by using safe antifreezes, like Sierra, or at the very least make sure you clean up any antifreeze leaks or spills.
junkyardgirl
Original Author
15 years ago
I was aware of the antifreeze danger, but not about the crystals. I knew it shut down their kidneys.

We had an evil neighbor once who killed all the neighborhood cats with antifreeze. He hated cats. We had a couple who fell victim to his tricks, but then we got the police involved, because he was overheard by another neighbor telling me "He!! yeah, I killed your cat, and I'll kill any da**ed cat that comes in my yard!" With that and a vet's statement that my cat had died of antifreeze poisoning, they got a warrant, and staked out his yard from my parent's back yard. They caught him red handed pouring antifreeze into a bowl and putting it on the back porch. The idiot then was brazen enough to say "that'll take care of that little bi**h's cats once and for all", probably meaning he had killed two of our three cats. They arrested him right there and then.

I hate to say it, but I was happy when he died. And you know what? He died of kidney failure. Strange justice, huh?
SaintPFLA
15 years ago
Sorry JunkyardGirl that you are not feeling well. I missed the original post -- what the heck happened to you? I take it that EEs have stuff in them that can make you ill?

Did you casually ingest it by accident?

Sorry about the cats too...some people are pure evil and are not fit to live with others.
Irma_StPete
15 years ago
saintpfla, the first post was "omg this hurts! warning!", one group back. I'd write this to you directly, but your "my page" doesn't have a "send me a message" option (or I would send you a copy of my swap at Chattaway in case you miss it!).
Irma in SP
blackheart
15 years ago
Actually it is not calcium oxylate crystals instead it is calcium oxalate crystals. If this crystals is present in your urine, there is an infection in your urine. If you will view it under a microscope, it is envelope-like shaped.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dialysis EMR

FYI: Calcium Oxylate Crystals

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laura1

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FYI: Calcium Oxylate Crystals

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