It is the season for lychees to come on the market again, commonly known as “one lychee and three fires”. Recently, the news that a girl in Hebei was “acutely poisoned” after eating lychees has attracted the attention of netizens. In this regard, experts remind that do not eat lychees on an empty stomach or excessively, and beware of “lychee disease”.
“Lychee disease” is a type of “hypoglycemia” considered by modern medicine, which occurs when certain groups of people eat lychee. “Lychee disease” can present a series of symptoms of hypoglycemia. In mild cases, symptoms such as dizziness, sweating, pale complexion, fatigue, palpitation, thirst, and hunger may occur. In severe cases, cold limbs, decreased blood pressure, and even convulsions may occur. Or sudden coma and other symptoms, severe shock death.
Chen Rui, chief physician of the emergency department of the Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, reminded that “litchi disease” is more common in children, and it is more common in children aged 4 to 11. Because lychee contains a lot of fructose and glucose, it will stimulate the body to produce a large amount of insulin for lowering blood sugar in a short time. Children and other special groups have imperfect self-regulation ability, insufficient ability to inactivate insulin, and are more prone to hypoglycemia.
Of particular note, excessive consumption of lychees and skipping dinner may lead to “nocturnal hypoglycemia.” Chen Rui said that if children do not consume carbohydrates, such as rice, noodles, etc., for dinner, and eat a lot of lychees after dinner, they may develop the disease in the early morning. If parents do not detect and correct this situation at night, there is a certain risk.
What should I do if my family suddenly suffers from “lychee disease”?
Chen Rui introduced that if hypoglycemia symptoms occur after eating a lot of lychees but no other serious conditions are seen, you can eat 15 grams of carbohydrates to increase blood sugar, and then observe for about 15 minutes, and decide whether you need to repeat the symptoms according to the degree of symptom relief. Eat 15 grams of carbohydrates. If the patient has convulsions, coma, confusion, etc., do not feed any food or water without authorization, so as to avoid suffocation, and immediately call the emergency number for medical treatment.
How can we safely enjoy delicious lychees?
Experts remind that in general, you should be careful not to eat on an empty stomach, and not greedy in moderation. The “safe amount” of lychees for different groups of people is different: for adults with normal glucose tolerance, it is recommended to control lychees within 15 each time; children under 4 years old are best not to eat whole lychees directly. More than 5; Pregnant women should not eat more than 10 lychees each time; Elderly people with constipation and people with poor blood sugar control should try not to eat them. People who control their weight should eat as little as possible. careful.