On November 16, Bach Mai Hospital announced a case of dangerous poisoning after taking an extract containing Ma Tien to treat bone and joint diseases.
Male patient DQD, 66 years old in Long Bien, Hanoi was taken to the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital for emergency treatment due to dizziness, nausea, sweating, episodic convulsions, and total body stiffness. .
This condition appeared after he drank about 1 teaspoon of medicinal extract containing coriander to treat osteoarthritis and gout for about 15 minutes.
The patient was determined to have strychnine poisoning, a toxin found in psyllium seeds, often used in agriculture to kill rats, insects and in traditional medicine for therapeutic purposes (neuromuscular stimulation…) .
“Modern medicine today no longer uses strychnine as medicine because of its dangerous toxicity and very limited therapeutic effects,” Dr.
Mr. D. said he had used medicinal herbs before, but this was the first time he encountered such a reaction.
Doctor Dat said that after nearly 1 day of hospitalization and intervention, patient D. still had continuous muscle spasms, torticollis, bent arms, and spasticity of both legs like a tetanus patient.
The creatine kinase (CK) test result was very high at 15,000 IU/L.
After 4 days of hospitalization, the patient still had mild spasticity, complications of pneumonia requiring oxygen and emergency treatment for resuscitation.
“Cases of strychnine or Ma Tien poisoning are often due to following folk remedies, word of mouth, drinking wine soaked in Ma Tien for massage… Severe poisoning cases are not detected and treated immediately.
Doctor
Codex is highly toxic, directly affecting the spinal cord, stimulating muscle spasms. In mild cases, it increases tendon and bone reflexes. In severe cases, it causes continuous muscle spasms such as tetanus, sudden muscle contractions like convulsions. .
Muscle spasms and spasms can easily and quickly lead to suffocation, respiratory failure and death.
According to Dr. Nguyen, in traditional medicine, when using horseradish seeds, it is necessary to handle toxins according to the correct process to eliminate the risk of poisoning.
Ma Tien seeds are also classified by the Ministry of Health as highly toxic drugs, requiring special storage and dosage compliance.
“Patients should not arbitrarily use nuts and folk remedies to avoid the risk of dangerous poisoning,” Dr. Nguyen advised.
