05 February 2024 , 16:59
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A four-year-old boy collapsed and nearly died after having an iced-slushy drink, just weeks after another child went through a similar experience after consuming the drink.
The mother of Albie, 24-year-old Beth Green, went through a terrifying experience after her son fell unconscious a little while after enjoying a small strawberry-flavoured slushy. The four-year-old had been bowling with a friend at the time. But within 30 minutes, Beth said Albie was "tired and agitated" on the way home - but his condition worsened and he ended up in hospital. Months later, Beth and partner Fred Pegg were told Albie had suffered 'glycerol intolerance' after slurping an iced slushy drink.
In 2023, the Food Standard Agency (FSA) issued new voluntary industry guidance on glycerol in slush-ice drinks, saying that they shouldn't be given to children under the age of four. This is because at increased levels of exposure, glycerol intoxication can cause shock, hypoglycaemia and loss of consciousness.
Beth said: "It was a Friday after school and we took Albie and his friend to a bowling alley. He'd had a slushy there before. Albie did have slushies frequently when it was warmer weather but it wasn't something that was constant, it was just a nice little treat for him. Him and his friend both drank their kids slushies and after that he was happy and excited. At about 4.15pm he started getting a bit tired and agitated, he didn't want to play anymore.
Albie has a serious reaction to his slushie drink (Kennedy News and Media)"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." Soon after dropping Albie's friend home, the parents noticed their son beginning to scratch himself and even hallucinate. The mother thought it was very strange and called Albie's grandmother who told her to take him to hospital.
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When doctors realised his situation was serious, he was sent via an ambulance from The George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, to the high-dependency unit at University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire as he continued fall in and out of consciousness.
Albie became unresponsive after school (Kennedy News and Media)
Beth and son Albie in hospital (Kennedy News and Media)The little boy was admitted to hospital for three days before his condition stabilised and he was able to be brought back home. Further tests by Birmingham Children's Hospital, revealed that this incident was likely due to glycerol intolerance after ingesting a slushy drink.
This particular incident comes after another mother Victoria, from Port Glasgow, had taken her youngest son, three-year-old Angus, and an elder sibling out shopping, and bought him a raspberry-flavoured slushie after he saw one. Within 30 minutes, the little boy collapsed and fell unconscious.