Successful emergency treatment of a child poisoned by Indian laurel leaves
(Baonghean.vn) -On the morning of September 4, the Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital received and successfully treated a child who was poisoned by the leaves of the Indian laurel tree. That was the case of Nguyen Thi Ngoc (10 years old), in Tan Hop commune, Tan Ky district.
According to information from Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhi, Ngoc's mother, on August 30, seeing that her child had been constipated for a long time and could not defecate, she picked up the leaves of the Indian laurel tree to make medicine for Ngoc to drink. After drinking, Ngoc was able to defecate (6 times/day) and had mucus, yellow foam in her stool, and her health was still normal. However, on September 1, Ngoc showed signs of vomiting many times, fatigue, high fever, and could not eat or drink. Seeing this, the family took her to the emergency room at the commune health station and the district hospital, but her condition did not improve, she still vomited a lot and had symptoms of stiffness. Ngoc was then transferred to and treated at the Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital.
Doctor Nguyen Thanh Khoi - Deputy Head of the Emergency Department is checking the health of a child poisoned by Indian laurel leaves.Doctor Nguyen Thanh Khoi - Deputy Head of the Emergency Resuscitation Department, Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital said: When admitted to the hospital, Ngoc showed signs of pale skin, pale mucous membranes (due to hemolysis causing excessive blood loss), respiratory failure, red urine, circulatory collapse and risk of kidney failure. After being given oxygen, electrolyte replacement, 250ml of blood transfusion, and antibiotics to prevent secondary infection, Ngoc has overcome the critical stage, but according to the assessment, her health condition is still complicated and needs to be monitored and treated actively. In particular, in the case of Ngoc, there are signs of slow mental and motor development, physical weakness (she weighs only 24kg), and poor health, so the treatment process will be longer than previous cases of poisoning from the leaves of the Indian laurel tree that have been treated at the department.
At the same time, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Khoi recommends that parents with young children (especially in mountainous, remote and isolated areas) need to have an understanding and raise awareness of the problem of poisoning due to the leaves of the Indian laurel tree. This is a very poisonous leaf and can cause death very quickly if eaten in large quantities. People should also not use it to treat intestinal diseases according to folk experience (also known as folk remedies) for children with long-term constipation, which is dangerous to their lives.
Thuy Hien
