What are the symptoms of potato poisoning

Symptoms of potato poisoning may include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. The patient may also experience problems such as difficulty breathing and convulsions, so timely rescue and treatment must be paid attention to.

1. Symptoms of potato poisoning

Potatoes contain a toxin called solanine. Eating very small amounts of solanine may not necessarily cause obvious harm to the human body, but if you eat 200 mg of solanine at one time (about half a catty of green and sprouted potatoes), you may become ill after 15 minutes to 3 hours. The earliest symptoms are itching in the mouth and throat, pain in the upper abdomen, and nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. For those with mild symptoms, they will recover through their own detoxification function after 1 to 2 hours. If 300 to 400 mg or more of solanine is ingested, the symptoms will be very severe, manifested by increased body temperature and repeated vomiting leading to dehydration, as well as dilated pupils, photophobia, tinnitus, convulsions, difficulty breathing, and low blood pressure. A very small number of people may die from respiratory paralysis.

2. Precautions for eating potatoes

1. Do not eat unripe green-skinned potatoes.

2. The parts of the potatoes that have sprouted, turned green, or rotted should be completely removed. If the potato turns green over a large area and has many sprouted parts, it should be thrown away.

3. Cut the peeled potatoes into small pieces and soak them in cold water for more than half an hour to dissolve the remaining solanine in the water.

4. Taking advantage of the weak alkalinity of solanine, add an appropriate amount of rice vinegar when roasting potatoes. The acidity of the vinegar can decompose solanine and have a detoxifying effect.

5. When cooking potatoes, make sure they are crispy and cooked through, using long-term high temperature to partially decompose solanine.