A 7-year-old Illinois boy was helping out in the garden when an accidental brush with a common weed caused a severe reaction.

“Rayden loves doing anything helpful in or outside,” Danielle Carnicelli tells PEOPLE about her son. That’s why at the end of August, the “helpful kid” was pitching in alongside his stepmother, Andrea, to clean up their garden, removing weeds.

That’s when he “accidentally came in contact with the pokeweed,” which Carnicelli describes as “this weed that grows naturally everywhere.”

A single plant can produce up to 7,000 seeds, per the University of California, and the seeds remain viable for 50 years. It’s largely spread by birds who eat the berries and then spread the seeds in their droppings. As the National Library of Medicine says, “all parts of the pokeweed plant are toxic to humans.”

Rayden Vollrath suffered a severe allergic reaction from pokeweed.Courtesy of Danielle Ruhl

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A few hours after the gardening session, Rayden began to struggle with a severe reaction that Carnicelli compared to “poison sumac.” A rash that was “blistered and clustered together” began to spread, and his father, Matthew Vollrath, brought him to the emergency room.

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At that point, he was struggling to breathe. Carnicelli says, “Rayden’s throat was the size of a quarter and his nasal passages, when he was breathing, sounded like he was snoring when he was awake.” Doctors at the hospital, she said, were “frantic and trying to figure out the exact detail to determine if it was the weed or not.”

The doctors were able to confirm that Rayden — who had “no known allergies before this incident” — had an allergic reaction to pokeweed. It’s why Carnicelli is speaking out about his experience to warn other parents.

Rayden’s family is sharing the dangers of pokeweed after he had an allergic reaction.Courtesy of Danielle Ruhl
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“Pokeweed is very dangerous [if] not handled properly. Do your research before you pull any unknown weeds,” she advised. “Stay observing after you were doing anything in the garden with many hours following after the initial contact with any type of weed and [if] something seems off  with your kid or any loved ones seek medical help.”