A baby a few months old tested positive for cocaine at the CHU de Nîmes. Following the complaint of his parents, the nanny of the child was taken into custody on Tuesday, January 24. She admitted being responsible for the accident.

In front of the gendarmes, she admitted having consumed cocaine and having left some lying around in the presence of the child which she kept. Tuesday, January 24, a 40-year-old nanny was taken into custody for endangering others , reports the Gazette de Nimes .

The baby swallows cocaine 'without the knowledge' of his nanny

When picking up their child after their day at work, the parents of the baby, born in 2021, immediately noticed his abnormal behavior. Taken to the Carémeau hospital in Nîmes (Gard), their little one underwent toxicological analyses. Result: it is cocaine positive . He would have, according to his nurse, took advantage of his inattention to swallow some . However, he is out of danger.

What is the nurse risking now?

In shock, the parents filed a complaint. The nanny will be summoned by court later , reports the Gazette de Nimes . According to article 223-1 of the Penal Code , 'directly exposing another to an immediate risk of death or injury of a nature to cause mutilation or permanent disability' is punished one year's imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros .

Already similar cases in Nîmes

In 2017, a 4-month-old baby had already tested positive for cocaine in Nîmes. The child, victim of regular illnesses, had been taken to the hospital where the nursing staff had detected traces of this white powder in his blood. Placed in custody by the gendarmes, his parents ended up admitting to being drug users , reported at the time The Parisian . Despite this episode, the child was able to come out of the hospital in good health.

A year earlier, this drug had also been identified in the body of a 10-month-old Nîmes girl . Her father, an occasional consumer, had dropped it and his daughter had ingested it. If the child has not retained any sequelae, she had been placed several days in a foster family before being returned to her parents, reports 20 Minutes .

What are the symptoms of a child who has ingested cocaine, cannabis or ecstasy?

Asked by The Dispatch about these accidents in August 2017, after five cannabis poisonings in infants took place in less than 15 days, the intensive care pediatrician in Strasbourg Arnault Pfersdorff assured that although rare, the ingestion of drugs by children was going to increasing. ' Death is very rare, but neurological and renal sequelae exist ' , he warned before developing: the ingestion of 'cocaine and crack cause agitation and sometimes convulsions, fever, heart problems and risk of kidney damage' .

Cannabis ingestion causes vomiting, impaired consciousness, fatigue, low blood pressure, 'and more rarely convulsions then coma' . A child who has used ecstasy will be agitated and aggressive, while presenting with tachycardia, increased blood pressure and sometimes fever and muscle tension.

What to do if a child has ingested drugs?

In all cases, the child must be taken to the hospital where he will suffer 'gastric lavage, cooling' and will be administered 'benzodiazepine-like painkillers for cocaine' , explains the one who is also the founder of the site pediatre-online.fr. His hospitalization will last at least 24 hours.

Source journaldesfemmes.fr