【The Effects of Dachayao】
Dachayao has the ability to detoxify, relieve pain, and kill insects. It can be used externally to treat skin eczema, body ringworm, athlete's foot, bruises, fractures, hemorrhoids, boils, and leprosy. It can also kill maggots and larvae.
Toxicity:
1. Dachayao is highly toxic, with the roots and young leaves being particularly toxic. It has been classified as a poisonous substance in traditional Chinese medicine and can cause rapid death. It is generally not used for medicinal purposes, but some regions still use it to treat difficult conditions such as rheumatism.
2. The fresh roots of Dachayao initially appear to have a fragrant taste, but then cause a feeling of dizziness and eventually a sense of fear that cannot be avoided. The pollen of the Dachayao flower is also highly toxic, and consuming honey containing the pollen can lead to severe poisoning symptoms, and even death.
Symptoms:
1. After accidental ingestion of Dachayao, patients may experience symptoms such as abdominal pain, muscle cramps, dizziness, slurred speech, respiratory failure, and coma.
2. Dachayao may cause intestinal adhesions, leading to persistent abdominal pain, but the idea that Dachayao can cause the intestines to rupture is only a legend.
Antidote:
In general, after accidental ingestion of Dachayao, symptoms such as nausea and vomiting may appear within 10 minutes, followed by abdominal pain after half an hour, muscle cramps, dizziness, slurred speech, respiratory failure, and coma. If such symptoms are observed, prompt medical attention should be sought. If time is critical, the affected person can be given a drink of goose blood, duck blood, or sheep blood, which has been proven to have a certain therapeutic effect. Currently, there is no specific treatment for Dachayao poisoning, and only conventional methods such as gastric lavage, catharsis, diuresis, and activated charcoal adsorption of toxins are used.
In Chinese folk medicine, drinking fresh sheep blood while it is still warm has been found to be effective in treating Dachayao poisoning and has been clinically validated. It is also used in many rural areas to kill pests. Pigs and sheep can eat the leaves without any toxicity, and it can even make their fur shiny, help them gain weight, and prevent disease. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" states that if a person mistakenly eats the leaves of Dachayao, it can be fatal, but if a sheep eats them, it will become very fat. However, further research is needed to determine whether sheep blood contains any chemical substances that can counteract or neutralize the toxic effects of Dachayao.
Dachayao is a one-year-old vine plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Its main toxic substance is cucurbitacin. It is recorded that eating it can cause the intestines to turn black and sticky, leading to persistent abdominal pain and death. The general treatment for poisoning is gastric lavage, charcoal administration, followed by alkali water and emetic, and then the ingestion of a decoction made from mung beans, honeysuckle, and licorice can help detoxify.
Dachayao—also known as Leiteng (as stated in the "Comprehensive Dictionary of Chinese Medicine")—mung beans, honeysuckle, and licorice are actually universal detoxifying agents. The same applies to the stems of lychee and fresh soy milk, among others.
【Precautions for the Use of Dachayao】
Dachayao is highly toxic and should not be taken internally.
