This leads to a steady increase in calls to a helpline operated by the Health Board (Terviseamet), with the aim of reducing the burden on hospitals.

The Poison Information Hotline (Murgistusinfoliin) can be reached on 16662, and all operators speak English.

The line has been receiving a rising number of calls year on year, and in 2024, the number of calls in the first seven months has already surpassed the same period last year.

Summer is perhaps unsurprisingly a particularly high-risk time for poisonings.

Kelli Suvi, prevention manager at the poison information line told ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera (AK): "Any hotline nurse-consultant gets about ten calls a day. There has been a recent surge in calls related to natural poisonings. Berries, especially toxic ones, are a common topic, as is hemlock poisoning, and even snake bites have been quite frequent."

Though calls to the information line have gone up, the rate of admissions of minors admitted to the hospital with symptoms of poisoning has fallen slightly, though around 20 minors still require hospital treatment each month – often after ingesting synthesized products rather than berries etc.

Reet Raukas, head of the pediatric clinic at Tallinn Children's Hospital (Tallinna lastehaigla) told AK: "It can be that a little alcohol has been ingested, or cases involve children ingested their grandparents' pills."

"There are also those teenagers who deliberately take medication from the household medicine cabinet, be it prescription pills they have saved, or those not taken on time, leading to hospital admissions for poisoning," Raukas went on, noting that these cases often represent intentional self-harm.

"Another type of poisoning which can happen in the home involves substances like vinegar, drain cleaner or detergent pods," Raukas added.

Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is another poisoning risk.

These cases and also those of snake bites primarily affect adults.

"Adults tend to take risks, like approaching snakes they see. As for hemlock, adults are more likely to be affected, often while trimming without protective gear or clothing, or while riding ATVs in fields," Kelli Suvi told AK.

There are several types of poisonous berries which people mistake for edible ones or, in the case of children, can be appealing in terms of their bright or shiny appearance.

Leida Ojasoo, an educator at the Estonian Museum of Natural History (Loodusmuuseumi), said one common confusion is between the toxic berries of the lily of the valley ((Convallaria majalis) and the edible lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), and also black bryony (Dioscorea communis), confused with blueberries.

The black bryony is among the most toxic berries to be found in Estonia's forests.

Suvi added that European fly honeysuckle berries (Lonicera xylosteum) are among the most common varieties children have been eating, prompting calls.

Ojasoo called for caution when unsure.

Not only are berries in season, but peak poisonous mushroom/toadstool season arrives in about a month, when the amanita mushrooms, some of whose varieties are among the most toxic mushrooms to be found worldwide, begin to mature.

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