Chinese mother overdoses on sleeping pills after son fails to understand math question
PUBLISHED ONDecember 20, 2019 6:27 AMByRainer Cheung
Some people call it their Achilles heel, others simply call it math.
Whatever the name, the harrowing subject continues to be an endless source of frustration for many, even those who have long left the education system.
Like this mother in Hubei, China, who was sent to the hospital after she overdosed on sleeping pills in anger over her son's lack of arithmetic ability.
According to local publication Chang Jiang Daily News, though her son was only seven years of age, Xu and her husband were constantly concerned over his education. As such, the two signed him up for multiple supplementary and tuition classes and took it upon themselves to coach him further at night.
It was during one such coaching session last Friday (Dec 13) that saw Xu losing her patience. Despite explaining one math question for over half an hour, her son still failed to understand how to solve it.
Tempers were lost and the two got into a heated argument before Xu's husband stepped in to mediate, taking over their son's studies for the night. However, Xu was still seething.
In a blind fury, she grabbed a bottle of sleeping pills and swallowed seven of them in one shot. While she initially found herself calming down, she quickly realised something was off when she felt extremely dizzy.
Xu showed no signs of complications after she was wheeled into the hospital and was induced to vomit, reported Sin Chew Daily.
"This is the first time I've encountered a patient who overdosed on sleeping pills because of their children's homework," said the director of the Department of Gastroenterology.
More often than not, patients who overdose tend to be those who suffer from emotional turmoil from events such as breakups and family spats, he noted.
As sleeping pills have an inhibitory effect on the central nervous system, it can help induce sleep. However, taking too much can be toxic. Should the amount absorbed by the body be more than 10 to 20 times the recommended dose, it could result in hypoventilation and even death.
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