Two children were admitted to the Galilee Medical Center's emergency room on Sunday after consuming chocolate that contained hallucinogenic mushrooms during a family vacation, the hospital said. The children, aged five-and-a-half and six-and-a-half, were transferred to the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit for continued monitoring.
Two young children hospitalized in Israel after eating chocolate containing hallucinogenic mushrooms
Two children were admitted to the Galilee Medical Center's emergency room on Sunday after consuming chocolate that contained hallucinogenic mushrooms during a family vacation, the hospital said. The children, aged five-and-a-half and six-and-a-half, were transferred to the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit for continued monitoring.
Both children were physically stable upon arrival at the emergency room but had been experiencing neurological symptoms, the Galilee Medical Center said in a statement. The mushrooms are believed to belong to the Psilocybe/Panaeolus family, according to the National Poison Control Center, which can cause hallucinations, increased blood pressure, and, in severe cases, seizures and heart damage.
Dr. Sally Makhom, a physician at the Galilee Medical Center's Children's Emergency Department, said the children arrived 'in a state of confusion, with dilated pupils and active hallucinations.' She said staff stabilized them and, in coordination with the National Poison Control Center, began treatment and monitoring before transferring them to the pediatric ICU 'due to the volatile nature of this type of poisoning.'
Galilee Medical Center is located in Nahariya, in northern Israel.
- The source does not state how the children came to have access to the chocolate containing the mushrooms.
- The source does not state the current condition of the children at the time of publication.
- The source does not state whether any adult accompanying the children also consumed the chocolate.
- The source does not state the origin or provenance of the chocolate product involved.
- The source does not state whether law enforcement or regulatory authorities have been notified or are investigating.
Read the original at The Jerusalem Post