The pain called 'poison ivy'

Lesson 2: Change perception, improve life

To prevent and combat poison ivy, all levels, sectors and authorities have actively taken part. However, the fact that poisoning still occurs quite commonly has shown that previous solutions have not been effective... Preventing and combating poison ivy is not simply a matter of removing and eliminating poison ivy, but it is a matter of changing awareness and thinking.

Just solved the "tip"

In the border commune of Tri Le (Que Phong), Captain Le Anh Duc, a military doctor at Tri Le Border Post, is the one who discovered an effective remedy against poison ivy, saving many people from the "mouth of death". Captain Le Anh Duc said: "Before coming to Tri Le Border Post, I had worked in Nam Can and Keng Du communes (Ky Son). Before that, I was not concerned about poison ivy poisoning because the cases were not many, only sporadically occurring. Coming to Tri Le in 2013, I was in charge of the combined military-civilian clinic, and I was haunted by the poison ivy poisoning situation here. Many people committed suicide by poison ivy. Deaths by poison ivy were very painful and heartbreaking for both the deceased and the survivors. What is more troubling is that those who committed suicide by poison ivy were all very young, even only 11-12 years old".

From that torment, military doctor Le Anh Duc devoted his time to researching, studying, and developing an emergency medicine for poison ivy poisoning from folk experience, applying it to treat victims. The first poison ivy victim that he successfully treated with the medicine was Lo Van X (born in 1997) in Yen Son village, Tri Le commune. At 2:00 p.m. on October 31, 1996, due to marital conflicts, Lo Van X ate poison ivy and committed suicide. At 5:30 p.m. the same day, X was discovered by his family and taken to the Tri Le Border Post's combined military-civilian clinic with many dangerous syndromes and symptoms that could lead to death at any time. Faced with the choice of life or death for the patient, Dr. Duc decided to use folk medicine to eliminate toxins in the stomach by natural methods, combined with injections of antibiotics, heart stimulants, and stimulants... After 4 times of taking medicine and inducing vomiting, patient X had less difficulty breathing, less abdominal pain, less cyanosis, could recall the incident when asked, and his pulse and blood pressure gradually stabilized. By October 1, the patient was alert, had good communication, was less tired, walked and talked normally, and his family asked to take him home for continued care and monitoring.

With this folk remedy, military doctor Le Anh Duc has promptly treated over 20 people poisoned by aconite from 2016 to present. In 2018, Dr. Le Anh Duc's folk remedy was disseminated by the Nghe An Provincial Border Guard Command to border posts in the province. Many units have used this remedy to provide emergency aid and successfully treat many people poisoned by aconite... Captain Le Anh Duc shared the limitations of the remedy: "For those who eat aconite after 6 hours and then go to the emergency room, the remedy is no longer effective, even if the medicine is placed in a steam bath to administer the medicine. This remedy only partially solves the "tip" but not the "root" of the current poisoned aconite situation, just like the campaign to uproot and remove aconite plants for a long time. No medicine can cure people who deliberately seek death."

In fact, the emergency and treatment of patients with mild poisoning from aconite leaves, detected early, is not too difficult for medical facilities. The Medical Centers of Que Phong, Ky Son, and Tuong Duong districts have successfully treated patients many times. “Treating patients is not too difficult. But how to prevent people from eating aconite leaves is the problem. In Tuong Duong, in recent years, the situation of eating aconite leaves has tended to decline, especially in the Mong ethnic minority area. This decline is most likely related to the trend of people escaping, going to work far away, and having more contact so awareness is raised. This is worth studying,” Dr. Vi Van Chien - Director of Tuong Duong Medical Center shared and suggested.