Vietnam boy hospitalized for drinking methadone, an opioid, thinking it was strawberry syrup

Doctors in Vietnam have saved the life of a four-year-old boy who ingested diluted methadone, an opioid used in the treatment of drug addiction, thinking it was strawberry syrup.

Family members of the boy, N.H.C. from the northern province of Son La, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper his uncle was a drug addict.

The man, who passed away recently, had been using diluted methadone for treating his drug addiction and stored the pink-colored liquid in a plastic bottle in a family medicine cabinet without a lock.

Last week, C. came across the bottle of methadone and, mistakenly thinking the content was strawberry syrup, drank it.

His mother discovered him unconscious around 30 minutes later and rushed the boy to a provincial general hospital.

Doctors there put C. on a ventilator and transferred him to the Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics in Hanoi.

He was in a critical condition and had slipped into a deep coma upon arriving at the infirmary in the capital, according to Dr. Phan Thi Tam, head of the hospital's poison control department.

After two days of intensive care, the boy was beginning to revive and could interact with his parents. Five days later, he was in stable condition.

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