News

S’pore Man Landed In ICU After Trying Home Remedy For Indigestion

2017-09-05 , 12:14 pm

Singapore may be a modern city, but there are plenty of old wives’ tales floating around that we still believe in.

Things like “Tomorrow (5 Sept) is the 凶-est Day of the Hungry Ghost Festival.” Or how your mother always tells you to drink Sprite if you have a stomachache.

Sometimes, the home remedy works. And sometimes, it doesn’t.

And unfortunately for this man, things took a turn for the worse.

S’porean Man Lands in ICU After Trying Home Remedy For Indigestion

Meet 55-year-old operations manager, Mr Gunalan Perumal.

On 3 Aug, he drank Sri Ambikkas omum water to help with his indigestion. The moment he drank the water, he felt his throat and mouth burn.

He attempted to wash the pain away with ice water but vomited instead. His wife, Madam Tarumampal Mariyappan, took a sip after seeing his reaction.

Her lips started swelling immediately.

Mr Perumal was sent to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and had to stay three days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

He had swellings to his throat and mouth.

He was given 1-month medical leave after he was discharged from the hospital while his wife was given outpatient treatment and given 1-day medical leave.

Investigations Found The Drink To Have a pH Level Of 13

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA)’s preliminary investigations revealed that the drink had a pH level of 13, equivalent to swallowing chlorine bleach.

And to top it off, the seal was intact and the product wasn’t past its expiry date.

However, it was noted that the liquid in the defective omum water was cloudy, not clear like other omum water.

Importer Stopped Selling The Drink, Shop Stopped Stocking And Selling As Well

A spokesperson for Sri Ambikkas said the company has stopped selling and importing the house brand drink voluntarily after coming to know about the case on 5 Aug.

The shop which sold the drink to Mr Perumal has also stopped stocking and selling the drink.

HSA concluded that this was an isolated case as they have received no other reports of such incidents happening.

So the moral of the story? If you have any omum water in your house, check to see if it’s cloudy or clear.

Because seal intact + non-expired doesn’t mean it’s safe.

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