![]() And in 2014, two people in Minneapolis were sickened after buying puffer fish from a street vendor. In 2008, for instance, 95 people across three districts fell ill after consuming the fish in Bangladesh, the authors wrote. Mostly, poisonings happen in countries where people know little about the dangers of puffer fish or how to prepare it. ![]() They also noted this particular case was "exciting" because the man not only consumed puffer fish, but canned food and cocaine "which made the differential diagnoses more broad and interesting." The authors of the latest BMJ Case Reports article noted that puffer fish is uncommon in south Florida, but the dangerous food might be available at underground markets. In one case in Japan, a man died two hours after eating puffer fish. Symptoms generally show between 30 minutes to six hours after the poison is ingested. In some cases, patients die because of respiratory and/or heart failure. Intoxication is characterized by tingling lips and tongue, headache, vomiting, muscle weakness, and a loss of coordination. Puffer fish is considered a delicacy in Japan, where only highly trained and licensed chefs can prepare the dish known as fugu, to protect diners from the potentially deadly consequences. But his kidneys did not heal, and he still relies on dialysis. GettyĪccording to his doctors, the patient also had a history of chronic kidney disease and hypertension.Įventually, the patient recovered from respiratory failure. His blood pressure was dangerously high, and his kidneys stopped working properly.Ī puffer fish, similar to that which a man in Florida ate, pictured swimming in the ocean. The poisoning triggered acute respiratory failure-where the lungs stops oxygenating and removing carbon dioxide from the blood. Instead, physicians can only offer patients respiratory support until the tetrodotoxin exits the body through urine.Īs the man's condition deteriorated, medics put a tube down his throat to protect his airways, and he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. There is no known antidote to the poison, which mainly lurks in the liver and ovaries of the fish. The pair had been poisoned by tetrodotoxin, a potent chemical which is around 1,200 times more toxic to humans than cyanide. The patient's grandmother, who had eaten a smaller amount of the fish, also experienced dizziness and weakness in her lower body. Three days prior, he had also consumed canned food and cocaine. Hospital staff learned the man had eaten the liver of a puffer fish four hours before arriving at the hospital. ![]() A pain had erupted in his chest which made it feel as though it was tearing, his doctors wrote in BMJ Case Reports. The unnamed 43-year-old man visited Aventura Hospital and Medical Center in south Florida, suffering from vomiting and stomach pains.īoth of his legs had gone numb, he felt weak, and he was struggling to speak and stay awake. A Florida man was hospitalized after he and his grandmother ate a potentially lethal puffer fish.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |