Man finally ends up within the ER After 'Overdosing' on Licorice Tea



A person in Canada "overdosed" on licorice by using drinking too much licorice tea, which caused his blood stress to soar to dangerous ranges, according to a new file of the case.


The 84-12 months-antique guy went to the emergency room (ER) after he took his blood stress at domestic and observed very excessive readings. He become also experiencing headache, sensitivity to mild, chest ache and fatigue, together with swelling in his calves, consistent with the record, posted nowadays (might also 27) in the Canadian clinical association journal.

on the ER, the person's systolic blood stress (the "pinnacle" variety on a blood stress reading) become almost 2 hundred mm Hg. regular blood stress is one hundred twenty/80 mm Hg. docs remember any blood strain measurement above 180 for systolic blood pressure (or above a hundred and twenty for diastolic blood strain, the "backside" wide variety on a reading) to be a hypertensive disaster that requires on the spot hospital therapy. [27 Oddest Medical Case Reports]

docs at McGill college in Montreal handled the person with numerous medications to decrease his high blood stress, and his signs progressed over the next 24 hours.

Later, the person instructed docs that he have been ingesting one to two glasses of selfmade licorice tea a day for the closing two weeks. This kind of tea is crafted from the roots of the licorice plant, Glycyrrhiza glabra. it's miles a famous drink in Egypt, wherein it's far known as "erk sous," the authors wrote inside the study.

consuming too much licorice root or goodies flavored with licorice root — together with black licorice — is understood to be toxic, in step with the U.S. meals and Drug administration (FDA).

this is because licorice root and black licorice contain a compound referred to as glycyrrhizin, which can reason the body's potassium ranges to fall. This, in turn, can result in fitness results including excessive blood strain, abnormal heart rhythms and swelling, the FDA says.

The FDA regulates how tons glycyrrhizin is authorized in food, but still recommends that humans avoid consuming huge amounts of licorice at any individual time. (Of observe, many "licorice" or "licorice flavored" products manufactured inside the U.S. do no longer virtually contain any licorice, but as an alternative are flavored with anise oil, which has the same odor and flavor, in line with the FDA.)

within the contemporary case, the man knew approximately the hyperlink between licorice and high blood stress, but he didn’t think he changed into ingesting an excessive amount of licorice, the record stated.

The case highlights an opportunity for medical doctors "to educate their patients with hypertension about the ability destructive outcomes of licorice to prevent licorice-related complications," the authors finish.