Thai doctors’ heroic efforts in saving 5 year old girl who drank cyanide

A heroic Thai doctor from Srisangwan Hospital in the northern province of Mae Hong Sorn shared her experience of saving the life of a five year old girl who accidentally drank silver cleaning fluid containing cyanide.

The female doctor, Theerada Wongjai, shared the life-saving story on Facebook on January 7 beginning the post with the hashtag, #CyanideRunningCompetition. The hashtag reflected how the medical team from Srisangwan Hospital, Khunyuam Hospital and Ramathibodi Poison Centre raced against time to save the girl before the poison spread throughout her body.

Theerada said the girl was brought to Khunyuam Hospital unconscious. Her mother told the doctor that the girl had drunk the silver cleaning liquid and had a seizure before losing consciousness. Theerada added that the silver cleaning fluid contained cyanide and required special medication.

The doctor at Khunyuam consulted with the Ramathibodi Poison Centre to obtain a list of medicines that could help the girl. However, Khunyuam Hospital was a small medical centre and did not have a key antidote for cyanide poisoning. The girl had to go to Srisangwan Hospital to get the medicine.

The medical team faced another obstacle. Srisangwan Hospital was more than 60 kilometres away from Khumyuam and the road was winding. It was possible that the girl could die on the way.

The emergency doctor at Srisangwan Hospital decided to send his team with the antidote to meet with the Khunyuam team on the way. The medicine arrived in time, and the girl woke up after receiving it. She was rushed to the Srisangwan Hospital for further treatment.

The girl’s condition improved a lot the next day. Theerada concluded at the end of her post by exclaiming, “We finally won!”

Theerada also warned families with small children to keep the poisons out of their reach, as they could kill a person within seconds.

Theerada also warned against helping people with poisonous substances by giving them mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, as the helper could allow the poison to enter their system.

The Ramathibodi Poison Centre praised the teamwork of the two hospitals on its Facebook page, as did many Thai netizens.