Sick from Toxic Hemlock (Conium maculatum)

We all pay for the beautiful lush flora that is absolutely incredible right now. We have toxic hemlock growing everywhere in Kentucky and since covid it’s much more noticeable on roadsides and fields. I have found that if I’ve been working in the garden beds and begin to feel off and jittery at night, I have to take homeopathic Arsenicum and/or Rhus tox (these weeds are so toxic!). Homeopathic Anacardium orientale is the one for rashes or under the skin itching post being outdoors for me (think feelings of the start of poison ivy or poison oak rash even if exterior rash is not present.)

An acquaintance from another country who just moved to Kentucky last fall has never had seasonal allergies until he moved here. Ragweed, goldenrod, and tree pollens make even the healthiest person sometimes have itchy eyes, watery nose, sneezing, sinus inflammation and even joint pain. Sometimes these toxins can present in the extremities and joints as arthritis or other debilitating conditions. How many roadside city and state workers are affected by such health conditions which could be caused from toxic plants being mowed and maybe easily reversed by homeopathic remedies?

And I had tried everything even through a naturopath and nothing helps like homeopathy with allergies and feeling sick from poisonous plants and weeds such as poison ivy and poison hemlock.

Here are a few articles to help you understand the scope of the problem:

• A poisonous weed is spreading across the US. What Kentuckians need to know >
• How to Identify and Remove Poison Hemlock >
• Towering Poison Hemlock >

The last article describes how to identify poison Hemlock vs. Queens Anne’s Lace. Despite what this article says, most herbalists do not consider Queen Anne’s Lace to be toxic; however, it is not recommended for medicinal use by pregnant women because it is an emmenagogue (can cause menstrual bleeding/abortion).

Make sure you know the difference between these two plants!

1. Children love to play with it and one is safe, one is not.
2. The smell of hemlock is odd (its roots tend to smell a bit like sassafras, really strong and sour.)
3. Hemlock as a young sprout can resemble cilantro, carrots and parsnip. Use caution and take no chances. They grow in similar soil conditions.
4. If a hemlock is accidentally fed to livestock, expect them to die suddenly.

Incidentally, poison hemlock is made into the homeopathic remedy Conium maculatum, which is good for various female complaints (infertility, endometriosis) and for hard tumors. Conium is one of the top remedies for paralysis in general, including Bell’s Palsy, Parkinson’s and MS.

If you have poison hemlock growing in your area, it would be a good idea to contact the local extension agency or agricultural university research department for information about proper removal of the plant or simply to report an area to them.

For ingestion or liquid splashing into eyes when weeding your yard that causes a feeling of paralysis take Arsenicum 200c immediately.

All this came together because I noticed a slight facial paralysis feeling post gardening and a pattern of me having to take Arsenicum to cure it, prior to knowing about hemlock. Once I found out about hemlock and cross checked to see if there was a connection to ms. I looked up multiple sclerosis because I was noticing extremities having numbness along with slight facial paralysis post gardening. This was alarming so I looked up the symptoms in Murphy’s MetaRepertory and stumbled upon Conium (toxic hemlock). Recognizing hemlock as the probable source of all the symptoms post gardening was key. Then realizing that the summer following 2020 lockdowns, the state and city roadside mowing kicked in and that stuff was in the air!!! It’s possible that burning this weed can put toxins in the air!

I have not tried the isopathic approach of using Conium mac, but I might give that a try. Activated charcoal, an eyewash of Arsenicum, high dosing of Vitamin C are other resources to add to the toolbox for fighting the ill effects of poison hemlock.