Of Course... Florida: mixing pufferfish and cocaine is a horrible idea

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A combination of cocaine and toxic pufferfish liver sent a Florida man to the emergency room, according to a new case report. The liver from a pufferfish, also known as fugu, is considered a delicacy in Japan. But eating it is risky, as the fish's liver contains a high concentration of a deadly poison known as tetrodotoxin (TTX), which causes paralysis if ingested.

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Because there's no antidote to TTX, doctors often place patients on ventilators to help them breathe until the body excretes the poison. The 43-year-old man's case was more complex than a typical fugu-eater's, however. Over the past few days, he had ingested cocaine and eaten canned foods, which made his physicians wonder whether foodborne botulism was at play, too.

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