Posted on: Friday, February 22, 2002

Teen hospitalized after eating plant

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

Angel's Trumpet is a pretty, but poisonous, flower that is found all over the state. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

State health officials, emergency room doctors and the father of a Kailua teenager are warning parents about the dangers of the poisonous Angel's Trumpet flower after the boy was hospitalized this week in critical condition from consuming the plant.

The 15-year-old Kalaheo High School student, who was taken Tuesday to Castle Medical Center, is now at Kapi'olani Medical Center in stable condition.

"This plant is dangerous, and I hope parents will talk to their children about ... it," said Castle emergency room physician Craig Thomas, who has seen similar poisoning cases from other teens' attempts to get high from the flower's petals.

The Brugmansia species plant, recognized by long, white or salmon bell-shaped flowers that face the ground, can severely alter behavior and cause hallucinations when ingested. In large doses, it can shut down a person's central nervous system and induce coma.

Another Kalaheo student was hospitalized last June after experimenting with the flower. The toxic effects made him so ill he was hallucinating, out of control and later embarrassed by an experience he doesn't remember. A 50-year-old man died in 1982 after drinking the juice of the plant as part of a homemade medical remedy.

The father of the latest victim said yesterday that he wanted to make other parents aware of what happened.

"I just want other parents to talk to their kids," said Michael Chow. "It was a dumb decision on his part, but I'm just relieved he's going to be okay."

Chow said his son ate several petals of Angel's Trumpet from a neighbor's yard Tuesday afternoon.

"He didn't feel anything right away, so he went back and ate several more petals," said Chow, 49.

Later that evening, Chow said his son began acting strangely, babbling incoherently.

"He mumbled something about Angel's Trumpet, so at least we had an idea what it was," Chow said.

Because the boy suffered from severe hallucinations for 18 hours straight, doctors had to tie him to the hospital bed so he wouldn't injure himself or medical personnel. Doctors gave him several sedative shots and placed a bottle of charcoal solution in his intestine to help absorb the toxins from his body.

He was scheduled to be transferred out of the hospital's critical care unit last night.

"He's finally back on solid food, (but) he still goes in and out of consciousness," his father said.

According to Department of Health toxicologist Barbara Brooks, the plant in small doses can create symptoms of dryness in the mouth, rapid or slowed heartbeat, dilated pupils and loss of coordination. Large doses can shut down the central nervous system and cause hallucinations, confusion, bizarre behavior and subsequent amnesia.

While deaths are rare from the plant, recovery may take several days, Brooks said.

Brooks said a chemical in the plant called atropine is used in the medical field as an antidote for patients who consume pesticides or are exposed to nerve gas.

"The dangerous thing about people who take this plant is you don't know the concentration of atropine in each petal, so you're taking a huge risk," she said.

Thomas said Castle's emergency room has treated several people in the past year who either ate the flower's petals or drank it as part of a tea in an attempt to get high. Other local hospitals have reported similar cases.

Thomas, who recently wrote the book "Poisonous Plants of Paradise," said the plant is found all over the state, making it easy for teens to experiment with.

"Instead of making you high, it makes you miserable," Thomas said. "It's definitely treatable, but it could conceivably kill you if you consume enough and it goes untreated."

Several Kalaheo students said yesterday they knew the location of Angel's Trumpet plants around the Windward side.

"They're everywhere," said 11th-grader Kainoa Young. "My friends tell me to stay away from them, because they heard it's one of the worst hallucinogens you can take."

Schofield Barracks banned the flower from yards on its Army base in 1996 after soldiers used flowers from plants growing on base to get high. A clinical investigation written by a Tripler Army Medical Center doctor described what a bad high it was: One 19-year-old soldier brewed tea from the plant and after drinking it began suffering from emotional swings, poor coordination, disorientation and hallucinations about propeller blades.

Chow said he wants to talk with state legislators on a possible measure to ban the growing of Angel's Trumpet in Hawai'i.

"I know there's a lot of poisonous plants out there, but I'm worried if smaller children pick one of these flowers and put it in their mouths," he said. "The effects on them could be worse."

Reach Scott Ishikawa at sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.