Many cases of poisoning due to the use of water chestnuts
Recently, a 46-year-old man from Lao Cai bought water chestnuts, crushed them, and boiled them in bone broth. Three hours after eating, he experienced cramps in his limbs, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. The patient was taken to the emergency room in a state of extreme agitation, sweating, chest pain, difficulty breathing, unmeasurable blood pressure, and incontinence. The patient was diagnosed with aconitine poisoning from the water chestnuts, with a high risk of death due to hemodynamic disorders and arrhythmias. Doctors treated him with antiarrhythmic and vasopressor drugs. After that, the patient's health stabilized.
Or the case of a 65-year-old male patient, residing in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh, who was hospitalized in late May 2023 with numbness in the mouth, tongue, hands, feet, burning sensation in the neck, and a feeling of irregular heartbeat after eating soup containing about 3-4 Chinese water chestnuts. Through examination and information gathering, the doctors determined that the patient was poisoned by Chinese water chestnuts, and performed emergency measures, detoxification with activated charcoal, gastric lavage, intravenous fluids, and intensive resuscitation according to the protocol. After 24 hours of intensive treatment, the patient's health was stable.
Previously, in August 2022, after 30 minutes of eating porridge with Chinese water chestnuts, a 40-year-old woman in Tuyen Quang experienced numbness in her mouth and tongue, numbness in her limbs, nausea and vomiting, and difficulty breathing. The patient was admitted to the provincial hospital with chest tightness, difficulty breathing, arrhythmia, hypotension, heart failure, acute pulmonary edema, and electrolyte disturbances. Doctors diagnosed the patient with poisoning from eating Chinese water chestnut porridge. The patient had to be put on a ventilator, treated for electrolyte disturbances, and given cardiac support and anti-arrhythmic drugs...
Shape of water chestnut
Water chestnut is a poisonous medicinal herb.
Dr. Nguyen Thanh Triet, Deputy Head of the Department of Traditional Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City, said that the Chinese water chestnut is the medicinal herb aconite and aconite, derived from the roots of the aconite plant (Aconitum spp.). Of which, the main tuber of the plant is called aconite, which is usually not processed and is mainly used externally as a pain-relieving massage medicine. The small tuber is called aconite, which can be taken orally but must be strictly processed according to procedures prescribed by the Ministry of Health to reduce toxicity.
"According to ancient documents, aconite and aconite both have a spicy, sweet taste, are very hot, and are poisonous. Aconite is only used to soak in wine to massage when suffering from pain and fatigue in the limbs. In special cases, it is rare for doctors to prescribe it to treat hemiplegia, cramped limbs, and boils that do not heal for a long time. Meanwhile, aconite has the effect of restoring yang, eliminating wind and cold, and is used to treat some critical symptoms, such as almost no pulse, excessive sweating (leakage of yang), and numb and tired limbs," Dr. Triet shared.
The main toxic components of the taro are aconitine and alkaloids, which are easily absorbed when swallowed as well as through contact with the skin and mucous membranes. The effects of aconitine are based on an increase in the permeability of sodium ions across the membranes, slowing down the repolarization process. It affects the peripheral as well as the central nervous system. At low doses it causes stimulating effects, at slightly higher doses it causes a burning sensation, vomiting, dizziness, and at even higher doses it causes paralysis and death from heart failure.
Therefore, water chestnut is an extremely toxic medicine and is included in the list of toxic medicinal herbs of the Ministry of Health. When used orally, only use aconite that has been processed according to the instructions of the Vietnamese Pharmacopoeia and the Ministry of Health to reduce the content of aconitine and related alkaloids to an acceptable level, then it can be used in treatment. Minimize the use of water chestnut as food (people often consider it a bitter tonic), except for families with long-standing experience in processing, for example water chestnut porridge in the Northwest, and when making medicine, it must absolutely follow the instructions of a specialist.
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