Wild Honey Poisoning: A Case Report

Olita Shilpakar; Bibek Rajbhandari; Bipin Karki

Olita Shilpakar Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, T.U. Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Bibek Rajbhandari 2Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, Nepal Police hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal,
Bipin Karki Department of Critical Care Medicine, Om Hospital and Research Centre.

Abstract

Wild honey is consumed in many parts of the world as an alternative source of medicine with the belief of reducing cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and many other ailments. However, intoxication secondary to consumption of wild honey produced from the nectar of a few species rhododendrons has been encountered due to a toxin known as grayanotoxin. It is a sodium channel toxin causing symptoms like bradycardia, arrhythmias, hypotension, sweating, dizziness and altered sensorium. We report a case of a 58 year old man who presented to the emergency room following ingestion of wild honey with bradycardia, hypotension and altered mental status.

Keywords: bradycardia; grayanotoxin; hypotension; wild honey poisoning.