TOAD POISONING

While petting frogs is a harmless childhood activity, handling toads can be dangerous, the New England Journal of Medicine (314:1517) reports, since the skin of some types of toad secretes a poison which, when conveyed to the mouth, causes drooling, convulsive seizures, and serious disturbances of the heart rhythm. The Colorado River toad is the most toxic toad in North America and well-known as the cause of neurological problems and even death in animals that pick it up by mouth.

Now, according to the Journal, a young boy who played with a toad of this type required intensive care in a hospital for over seven days before he began to recover from paralysis, seizures, and difficulty in breathing, and probably would have died without such treatment.

Accordingly, while it is quite safe for children to play with frogs, don’t let them ever even touch a toad. Telling frogs and toads apart, however, may not always be so easy.

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