What happens if my friend ingested lavender?

to the best of my knowledge, lavender is not poisonous to humans. i’ve heard of it being used in recipes more than once. you could always call poison control just to be on the safe side… you don’t actually have to be poisoned to call, but if you suspect you may have ingested something dangerous they will let you know if you should be worried.

Lavender According to this, your friend should be fine as long as she isn’t allergic to it and she isn’t pregnant. It can be used in cooking, so most likely she’ll be fine. Lavender can be a strong allergen (thus the concern if she’s allergic to it) and it’s cytotoxic in vitro and can harm a growing baby (thus the concern with pregnancy).

Lavender is not toxic. Unless she consumed a lot of lavender and feels very ill, she doesn’t need to worry about it.

Ok cool, thank you everybody!

Nothing. It’s edible. People cook with it.

In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s in at least ONE mix that is commonly sold on the spice aisle of most grocery stores…Herbes de Provence. Lavender is awesome.

Okay people, fluther is cool, and in this case looks like your friend got lucky. But please please please, if you think someone may have swallowed something toxic, CALL A DOCTOR!

@nope @roundsquare I did google it, and it said it is mildly toxic. Then I asked here, after telling her to call the doctor.

lavender is edible and used in cooking, though probably not too tasty in handfuls.

I have aromatic sea salts with herbs and one mix is lavender and rosemary. I’ve cooked with it and eaten it, it’s fine.

@ShiningToast Okay, fair enough. But there are a decent number of medical questions here where I can’t believe the first and only response to the question wasn’t “call a doctor.” In this case, it seems you did, but I’m not always sure in other cases.

Your friend should be just fine. I cook with it every now and then, using amounts similar to rosemary, adding it to pork chops, roast chicken, and the like (not to mention a dangerously good lavender-honey ice cream) and have never had any problems with anyone becoming ill.

In case I missed it, if you believe you/someone has ingested something poisonous call the poison control center immediately (keep the number next to the phone or on the fridge); better safe than sorry.

Chocolate is toxic but it doesn’t stop people eating that in handfuls.

According to this link, all lavender is edible. However, certain varieties are high in camphor oil, and your body will treat it as a toxin. The taste will be bitter. There are varieties of lavender that are considered culinary lavender, and are recommended for cooking.

There different types of lavender. If it’s true lavender then it’s toxicity is very low, but if it is Lavendin, then it has more turpines and has a stronger camphorish smell in it, but it’s not really super poisonous, like nightshade, but it’s not to be used for cooking. People flavour things with lavender all the time. Lavender flavoured sugar, vinegar, icing on cupcakes.

@wonderingwhy I’d love those recipes!

@shiningtoast Next time, don’t use Fluther as your reference for this stuff…. call poison control. Then you can come here and tell us about it. ok?

I’ve eaten lavender.
numerous times.
in handfuls.
I’m still alive.

I eat lavender all the time. It’s sold with other herbs at my grocery store, and there are numerous recipes on foodie websites and magazines that involve baking it into treats, and all kinds of concoctions. Your friend is fine.

@cazzie @wonderingwhy and everyone else

I knew I was going to be berated “for asking on fluther instead of calling poison control”, I’ve seen it a million times.

I did tell her to call poison control, and then I asked here.

Thank you for your help all the same.

am i the only one that saw this question and thought it totally has a gay joke coming??
ingesting lavender will turn you gay

lavender is also a great addition to gin or vodka cocktails… as long as you are using fresh lavender and not a lavender oil, you are fine to eat it. you said it looked like rosemary- so you are fine.