Thorn Apple or Datura

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Vol XXX

NO. 304

Friday

18th January 2008

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Flower sparks poison alert

By MANDEEP SINGH

AN alert went out yesterday over the potentially deadly dangers of a flower sometimes taken as a recreational drug.

Two men and a seven-year-old Bahraini boy have been treated for poisoning by the datura flower in the last week, said sources at the Salmaniya Medical Complex.

The flower is sometimes found in gardens in Bahrain, but is mainly brought in by Asian expatriates in powder form, an SMC doctor told the GDN.

People have been known to inhale or drink the power in a tea, or to eat the plant to get high, said the doctor, who did not wish to be named.

The boy collapsed unconscious after apparently eating the flower from his garden.

He was revived and stabilised by paramedics, before being taken to the SMC. It is thought the boy was attracted by the colourful flower and ate it out of curiosity.

A 50-year-old Bahraini and a 27-year old Bangladeshi were also treated for severe datura poisoning in separate incidents and all three have since been discharged, said the doctor.

Sources said Bahraini doctors were initially baffled by what had caused the poisoning, but Indian staff recognised the symptoms from similar experiences back home.

Datura is extremely dangerous and users may easily take a fatal overdose, said the doctor.

Many expatriate labourers, particularly Bangladeshis, regularly consume the datura flower raw in powder form or even as an inhaler.

"It is supposed to give them a high but is said to also have some medicinal properties," said the doctor

In traditional medicine, the flower, also called a thorn apple, is used to relieve pain and encourages healing.

"It has a long history of use as a herbal medicine, though it is very poisonous and should be used with extreme caution," said the doctor.

He said it was also known to be used in the treatment of asthma and Parkinson's disease but causes giddiness, dry mouth, hallucinations and coma if consumed in excess.

Symptoms of datura-poisoning include flushed, warm and dry skin, dry mouth, urine retention, hypertension, delirium with hallucinations, jerky movements, hyperthermia, coma, respiratory arrest and rare seizures, followed by depression.

The onset of symptoms occurs within 30 minutes to an hour after smoking or drinking it as a tea and one to four hours after ingestion of plant material or seeds.

"Initial symptoms include dry mouth then pupil dilatation," said the doctor.

He said gardeners tending Bahrain's public and private gardens are mostly from South Asia and are the major 'culprits'.

This is perhaps the first time that datura overdose cases have been reported in Bahrain, though officials are aware that the datura is used by people as a 'cheap alternative' to other drugs, said the doctor.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Abdulnabi Derbas, who also heads the drug rehabilitation programme at the Psychiatric Hospital, said the latest revelation was a cause for concern.

"This proves people are looking for newer and cheaper methods to get on a high," he said.

Dr Derbas said he would take up the matter with the Health Ministry so that the Interior Ministry is made aware of it.

"I had so far not heard of any such cases before this one but I am aware there are people who keep finding so-called cheaper drugs," he said.

Dr Derbas had earlier raised the alarm over youngsters getting high after sniffing an engine treatment chemical for kicks, as well as consuming cough syrup and even sniffing petrol.

mandeep@...

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