SRINAGAR: At least 11 members of a family from Handwara area in north Kashmir’s Kupwara were hospitalized with conditions of three of them said to be critical after they consumed rhubarb herb leaves on Tuesday evening, officials said.
Quoting the officials, news agency GNS reported that the family members were hospitalized after the neighbours found them unconscious at their home in Shirhama Mawar Handwara last evening.
They were first taken to PHC Qalamabad from where eight with higher complications were taken to District Hospital Handwara and on initial assessment at the hospital, the doctors referred all eight of them to SMHS Hospital Srinagar, an official said.
As per the official, the condition of three family members remains critical as of now. A medical officer at District Hospital Handwara said that prima facie it seems that the herbs they consumed were poisonous in nature.
A doctor who initially examined the victims at NTPHC Qalamabad said that the family seems to have consumed the wild herb rhubarb (‘Braand’ in Kashmiri).
“Rhubarb leaves contain high amounts of oxalic acid, which can cause health problems when eaten in higher amounts,” the doctor said adding symptoms of toxicity include mild gastrointestinal symptoms, as well as more serious problems, such as kidney stones and kidney failure.
“We hope all of them are alright very soon,” the doctor said.
