Man hospitalized over mad honey poisoning

The Centre for Health Protection said they are investigating a case of suspected mad honey poisoning as a man was hospitalized after consuming homemade honey mailed from Nepal.

The 35-year-old patient developed dizziness and vomiting around 30 minutes after he consumed the honey offered by a friend last Friday (Jun 14).

He attended the accident and emergency department of Kwong Wah Hospital a day later and was admitted for treatment due to hypotension and bradycardia.

The clinical diagnosis was suspected mad honey poisoning.

The poisoning is believed to have been caused by grayanotoxin, a neurotoxin that is found in plants and could affect nerves and muscles.

Symptoms of poisoning include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, weakness, excessive perspiration, hypersalivation, and paraesthesia shortly after ingestion.