Four-year-old Albie of Warwickshire, UK, collapsed and faced a near-death experience shortly after consuming an iced slushy drink.
This frightening experience came weeks after another child went through the same ordeal because of the same drink.
Albie was given a strawberry-flavored slushy during a visit to a local bowling alley and his mom and dad, Beth Green and Fred Pegg, could never assume the horror that followed.
Within around 30 minutes, Beth noticed her son displaying signs of fatigue and agitation on their journey home.
“We just thought he was tired and had a long week at school. When he got in the car he kept saying he was tired. He physically couldn’t keep himself awake, his head kept dropping,” Beth explained. He began “clawing at his face” and hallucinating in the back seat before he collapsed, falling unconscious.
“At this point, I don’t even recall if he was breathing,” the terrified mother said. “He was a dead weight when I carried him through the door, he was unconscious.”
His condition rapidly deteriorated, and he was ultimately rushed to the hospital. Shortly after, he was transferred to the high-dependency unit at University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire as he continued fall in and out of consciousness.
With each passing minute, the parents witnessed their son’s condition deteriorate, with his heartbeat dwindling to alarming lows. Amidst the chaos, medical professionals worked tirelessly to stabilize Albie.
For Beth and Fred, every second felt like an eternity, each heartbeat of their son a poignant reminder of the fragile balance between life and loss. They clung to each other, their prayers echoing in the sterile hospital corridors, fervently hoping for Albie’s miraculous recovery.
Albie was stabilized after three long days.
Following the terrifying incident, Beth and Fred received the diagnosis that Albie had suffered from ‘glycerol intolerance’ triggered by the consumption of the iced slushy drink. This revelation shed light on the grave consequences that unsuspecting individuals could face from seemingly innocuous food and beverage choices.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued a stern warning following these distressing incidents, highlighting the potential health risks associated with high glycerol levels found in certain child-friendly drinks commonly sold at cinemas. According to the FSA, children under the age of four could be particularly susceptible to developing headaches and nausea as a result of consuming these beverages.
The FSA’s Head of Additives, Adam Hardgrave, said: “While the symptoms of glycerol intoxication are usually mild, it is important that parents are aware of the risks – particularly at high levels of consumption.
“It is likely that there is under-reporting of glycerol intoxication, as parents may attribute nausea and headaches to other factors.
“We are grateful to those manufacturers who have already taken steps to reduce levels of glycerol, and to those who have already told us they will be adopting our new guidelines.”