Adults mistook daffodil leaves for chives, two children were poisoned and had to be taken to the emergency room.

According to Master, Doctor Bui Tien Cong, Department of Emergency and Poison Control, National Children's Hospital, recently, the unit received two children who were brought to the hospital with vomiting and abdominal pain due to accidentally eating daffodil leaves.

According to the patient’s family, the child had a cough so the family used chives to cook porridge for the child, but mistakenly used daffodil leaves. The family discovered the mistake when both children showed symptoms of stomachache and continuous vomiting.

Hospitalized children are monitored for vital functions and have toxins removed from their bodies by gastric lavage combined with the use of activated charcoal to absorb toxins and act as a laxative.

Daffodil and chive leaves are similar (Photo: BVCC).

The children were also given fluids and electrolytes and had tests to assess liver, kidney and heart function. After a day of active intervention, the two patients were stable and have just been discharged from the hospital.

Dr. Cong said that narcissus flowers are trumpet-shaped, yellow, white, pink, with six petals, and the center is the pistil. Narcissus flowers have bulbs like onions, and leaves like garlic leaves but thinner.

All parts of the daffodil plant are poisonous, especially the bulbs. The plant contains lycorine, which inhibits the enzyme cholinesterase, causing symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, sweating, and slow heart rate.

If you accidentally eat large quantities of daffodils, it can cause convulsions, circulatory and respiratory depression, and coma. In addition, daffodil bulbs contain oxalate, which can cause burns and irritation to the lips, tongue, and throat.

Doctors warn that some other plants such as money tree and water yam can also cause burns and irritation to the mouth and throat if children accidentally eat them.

Therefore, with plants grown in the family, adults must learn carefully, prevent the risk of children eating by mistake to ensure their safety. Avoid planting or displaying poisonous plants in places where there are small children, keep them out of reach of children.

In case a child accidentally eats daffodils or other poisonous plants, parents should not arbitrarily induce vomiting in the child; they should immediately take the child to the nearest medical facility for timely examination and treatment.

Nhu Loan

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/nguoi-lon-nham-la-hoa-thuy-tien-voi-la-he-hai-tre-ngo-doc-phai-cap-cuu-ar911254.html