3-year-old girl poisoned by mistakenly eating sister's weight loss pills

Doctor CKII Nguyen Tan Hung - Deputy Head of the Emergency and Anti-Poison Department, National Children's Hospital said that before being admitted to the hospital, the child mistakenly ate 7/14 weight loss pills that his sister bought online and did not have time to take them.

After eating, the child vomited a lot, had a stomachache, and had loose stools. The family discovered it and took the child to the provincial hospital for emergency treatment and then transferred the child to the National Children's Hospital.

When admitting a child, the doctor uses measures to limit the absorption of toxins such as gastric lavage, activated charcoal, laxatives combined with electrolyte replacement.

"The weight loss pills that the child accidentally ate were bought by her sister and have unknown ingredients, labels, and origins," said Dr. Hung, adding that these drugs are sold freely on the internet, posing a potential risk to the health of users.

A doctor examines a child admitted to the Emergency and Poison Control Department.

Taking the wrong medicine or chemical is not a rare case, because young children are often curious and hyperactive, not yet able to distinguish between toxic chemicals. At the National Children's Hospital, every year, many cases of children are admitted to the emergency room due to mistakenly taking pesticides, kerosene, rat poison, addictive substances, and sedatives for adults.

Through the above case, the doctor recommends:

For families with small children, it is necessary to keep medicines and toxic chemicals out of reach of children. It is best to store them in hidden places where children have little chance of coming into contact.

Do not store chemicals in drinking water bottles. Colorful bottles attract children's attention and avoid confusion.

Do not arbitrarily buy medicine or give your children medicine of unknown origin.

For preschool children, parents need to monitor and take care of them when they play and do activities.

For older children, it is necessary to teach them about toxic chemicals, how to distinguish between foods with similar shapes, and pay attention to their emotions and psychology.

When discovering or suspecting that a child has accidentally ingested a toxic drug or chemical, parents and caregivers need to quickly separate the child from potentially toxic substances and urgently take the child to the nearest medical facility.

When going, parents need to bring the container or bottle of medicine or chemicals that the child accidentally ate or drank so that the doctors know the cause and have the appropriate treatment.

Nguyen Ngoan

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/an-nham-thuoc-giam-can-cua-chi-be-gai-3-tuoi-ngo-doc-ar859148.html