Foxglove leaf tea sends woman to A&E
Friday December 2nd, 2016
A woman nearly died after mistakenly brewing foxglove leaves in a herbal tea, doctors revealed today.
The woman had purchased the leaves from a market where they had been
sold as leaves of the plant comfrey, which resembles the foxglove.
But the difference between the two plants is that foxglove contains the heart stimulant digitalis.
The woman was admitted to hospital in London with vomiting, palpitations and light-headedness. Tests showed she had developed an irregular heartbeat, according to an article in BMJ Case Reports.
Writing in the journal, Dr Mathew Kurian Vithayathil, an emergency specialist at King’s College Hospital, London, UK, writes: “Homemade herbal remedies on the surface may seem harmless. However, this case illustrates how limited knowledge of plants can be potentially fatal.”
A second report in the journal warns against the growing practice among bodybuilders of injecting themselves with natural oils.
The practice is said to improve muscle definition - but one bodybuilder experienced a rupture in his triceps and multiple cysts in his arm muscles, doctors report.
Investigations revealed he was also taking self-administered insulin, vitamin B12 injections, steroids and protein supplements.
As a result he suffered seizures and infections together with complications that required surgery, according to Dr Ajay Sahu, of Ealing Hospital, London, UK.
Dr Sahu writes: “The few cases of natural oil self-inoculation formally reported are likely to be the tip of the iceberg.
“We need to be aware of these cases to enable correct clinical diagnoses and also to recognise other self-abusive and potentially life-threatening practices which may be seen in conjunction.”
Comfrey herbal remedy causing second-degree heart block: do not be outfoxed by digitalis BMJ Case Reports 2 December 2016 [abstract]
Muscle mania: the quest for the perfect body BMJ Case Reports 2 December 2016 [abstract]
Tags: A&E | Alternative Therapy | Fitness | UK News
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