Fourteen children from Tondo, were brought to the Jose Reyes Medical Center (JRMC) in Manila the other night after suffering from stomach ache and vomiting due to consumption of the herbal "Tuba tuba" plant.
Dr.Enrico de Jesus, head of the emergency room department of the JRMC said that the victims are now confined in the hospital for close observation but can be discharged within 24 hours.
"One of them said that it was offered to them by a playmate. One child said the fruit of tuba-tuba tasted like peanuts. We gave them activated charcoal to neutralize the effect of the chemical on their stomach," he said.
According to Dr. Eric Tayag, director of the National Epidemiology Center (NEC) the tuba-tuba plant grows anywhere. It is an 'innocent-looking plant' but Dr. Tayag said that the whole plant actually contains poisons at levels that are intolerable even to animals.
"It has medicinal uses too. But if you get too much, you get the ill effect rather than the medicinal effect. Once ingested, there will be abdominal pain. There will also be discomfort in the throat and it may rapidly cause dehydration and hemorrhagic gastroenteritis then the patient may collapse." (JENNY F. MANONGDO)
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