It was the subject of the film “But you are crazy!” : a father uses cocaine regularly and sees one of his daughters fall seriously ill, intoxicated by this drug by accident. Unfortunately, this story does not only exist in the cinema, as evidenced by a recent conviction of a father, whose baby ended up using cocaine. A study has also been launched on the subject, it is called “CocaKid” and was launched by the head of pediatric emergencies at the Toulouse University Hospital, Isabelle Claudet. Its results were published in the journal Clinical Toxicology.
Over the last decade (2010-2020), the study (carried out in 24 emergency departments) reveals that cases of accidental poisoning of children under 15 with cocaine have multiplied by 8: 74 children tested positive during this survey. Parents consume it, children inhale it, lick it thinking it is sugar, or even drink it while breastfeeding if the mother has consumed it.
Tachycardia, convulsions, fever
Pre Isabelle Claudet is worried about seeing more and more cases of this kind, especially over the past three years, and speaks of a real “public health problem“. Symptoms in children are often neurological (59%) or cardiovascular (34%) : they have tachycardia, have a fever or even convulse, specifies the study. She points out that in 66% of cases, cocaine is not the only drug detected in the child’s body. In 46% of cases, the child is under 6 years old, the 6-13 year old group represented 16% of screenings, and the remaining 38% were over 14 years old. Most of the time, it is the parents who consume it: 60%.
She calls on health workers to be more aware. “In the PMI hotlines [Protection maternelle infantile]at the level of the doctors who follow the children, without judging, it is absolutely necessary to warn the parents of the dangers incurred“, she concludes.
Sources:
- Cocaine poisoning: on the rise in children too!, Le FigaroMarch 30, 2023
- CocaKid
