In line with its mission, the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony makes every effort to provide reliable medical content supported by the latest scientific knowledge. The additional flag “Checked Content” indicates that the article has been reviewed by or written directly by a physician. This two-step verification: a medical journalist and a doctor allows us to provide the highest quality content in line with current medical knowledge.
Our commitment in this area has been appreciated, among others, by by the Association of Journalists for Health, which awarded the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony with the honorary title of the Great Educator.
Hawthorn nightshade (Atropa belladonna L.) is a perennial plant that grows in deciduous and mixed mountain forests and thickets. It blooms in June and July. All parts of the fresh and dried plant, especially the seeds, are poisonous.
Poisoning can occur through contamination of the skin, especially the conjunctiva of the eyes. In children, severe poisoning, sometimes fatal, occurs after consuming 2–3 berries, and in adults – 15–20 berries. The active ingredient is the alkaloid atropine, which paralyzes the parasympathetic nerves and stimulates the central nervous system.
Symptoms of poisoning
They occur 10 minutes to several hours after ingesting the poison.
Peripheral symptoms: thirst, nausea and vomiting, dry mucous membranes, no tears, saliva, dysphagia, hoarseness, red skin, dilated pupils and disturbed eye accommodation, urinary retention, intestinal peristalsis, constipation, increased heart rate and arrhythmias, increased body temperature.
Central symptoms: psychomotor disorder characterized by restlessness, motor agitation, in severe poisoning loss of consciousness, disorientation, visual and auditory hallucinations, anxiety, uncoordinated movements, convulsions, respiratory and circulatory failure, memory impairment.
Treatment
It is necessary to provoke vomiting, quickly put the poisoned person in the hospital.
The content of the medTvoiLokony website is intended to improve, not replace, the contact between the Website User and their doctor. The website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Before following the specialist knowledge, in particular medical advice, contained on our Website, you must consult a doctor. The Administrator does not bear any consequences resulting from the use of information contained on the Website.