Poisoning case prompts Hong Kong doctors to warn public not to use adult products on children
Six-year-old girl suffers hallucinations after being given motion sickness patches meant for adults
Doctors have warned the public not to give children adult medication after a six-year-old girl was poisoned by motion sickness patches.
The rare case was revealed yesterday by the Hospital Authority’s Poison Information Centre.
The poisoned girl had two patches containing scopolamine – a medication conventionally used to treat motion sickness for adults – applied to the back of her ears last March, while on a school outing.
She was given the patches despite the product packaging clearly stating that only one patch should be used at a time, and for people aged 12 or above.
The girl was sent to hospital after she started to display symptoms of confusion and visual hallucinations. The girl claimed she had been “seeing butterflies”.