Tragedy caused by an effervescent tablet

A small effervescent tablet caused 18-month-old Xiao Muhao to suffocate and eventually die due to prolonged brain hypoxia and failed rescue efforts...

If 18-month-old Xiao Muhao had memories, the last memory this world left him would probably be a beautiful little pill that emitted many bubbles.

Because of this small pill, Xiao Muhao suffocated and eventually died due to prolonged brain hypoxia and failed rescue efforts.

At around 10 p.m. on April 27, Xiao Muhao was receiving an IV drip in a provincial hospital because of a cold and fever. In addition to the infusion, the doctor also prescribed two boxes of medicine, one box of "Wawaning Effervescent Tablets" with a label on the box that said "oral"; and a box of "Chaihuang Granules" with the label saying "take with water".

After the infusion, the mother sitting in the infusion room looked at the child with heartache and said, "Take the medicine. You'll be fine after taking it." The little guy seemed to understand and asked his mother to pry open his mouth. The mother took out a pill with a diameter of about 6 mm from the box of "Wawaling Effervescent Tablets" marked "oral" and stuffed it into the baby's mouth. "Open your mouth and drink some water." After feeding the child the medicine, the mother patted the child gently as usual.

After more than 10 seconds, the child's hands and feet suddenly began to tremble, and then he began to cough violently, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned blue. Seeing her son's abnormal expression and no response when she shook him, the young mother was stunned! "I felt that he must have choked."

This sudden accident made the young mother very nervous and at a loss. The child's father, Mu Hua, was still conscious and immediately picked up the child and called for a doctor. After trying many methods, including patting his back hard and inducing vomiting, Xiao Muhao's symptoms were still not resolved. At this time, the child's heartbeat and breathing were very weak, and he was sent to the emergency room for surgery. After cutting open the trachea, the doctor finally removed the remnants of the effervescent tablet which had turned into a puddle of water. The situation continued until the early morning of the 28th, but Xiao Muhao still had to stay in the intensive care unit for observation.

I originally thought that after the things were taken out, my son would be out of danger. But that afternoon, as if from a bolt from the blue, the hospital issued a notice: Mu Hao died due to prolonged brain hypoxia and failed rescue efforts.

The lesson of the accidental death of a child is painful

Mu Hua said, "We have never used this kind of medicine before, and we have no idea how to take it. The hospital clearly wrote 'oral' on one side, and the other one was marked 'take with water', so we believed that the hospital would not make a mistake, but who knew..." Mu Hua choked up and could no longer speak.

The pharmacist said that generally speaking, effervescent tablets for treating colds need to be taken in water, and are very suitable for children, the elderly and patients who have difficulty swallowing pills. But if you put it directly into your mouth, you need to be extra careful, especially for children. Because these tablets require a lot of water to dissolve and will also produce a lot of carbon dioxide. If the pill goes down the child's throat while the child is taking it, it will absorb the surrounding water and produce carbon dioxide, which can easily cause the child to suffocate.

This tragedy gives us a lot to think about: If Mu Hao’s parents had read the instructions carefully before giving their child the medicine; if the pharmacy staff had marked “take with water” instead of “take orally”... Without so many ifs, the tragedy has already happened.

An 18-month-old baby was gone because of an accident that should not have happened. It is so sad...