Four-year-old Albie from Warwickshire, UK, faced a terrifying near-death experience after consuming an iced slushy drink. This alarming incident occurred just weeks after another child went through a similar ordeal due to the same beverage.
Albie had been given a strawberry-flavored slushy during a visit to a local bowling alley. His parents, Beth Green and Fred Pegg, could never have anticipated the horror that followed. Approximately 30 minutes later, Beth noticed her son displaying signs of fatigue and agitation during their journey home.
“We just assumed he was tired after a long week at school. But 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. Albie began “clawing at his face” and experiencing hallucinations in the back seat before collapsing, losing consciousness.
“At that moment, I don’t even recall if he was breathing,” the terrified mother recounted. “He was a dead weight when I carried him through the door; he was unconscious.”
Albie’s condition rapidly worsened, prompting his urgent transfer to the hospital. Shortly after, he was moved to the high-dependency unit at University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire as he continued to drift in and out of consciousness.
As each minute passed, Albie’s parents witnessed their son’s condition deteriorate, his heartbeat dwindling to alarming lows. Amidst the chaos, medical professionals worked tirelessly to stabilize him.
For Beth and Fred, every second felt like an eternity, each beat of their son’s heart a stark reminder of the delicate balance between life and loss. They clung to each other, their prayers echoing in the sterile hospital corridors, desperately hoping for Albie’s miraculous recovery.
After three agonizing days, Albie was finally stabilized. Following this terrifying ordeal, Beth and Fred received the diagnosis that Albie had suffered from ‘glycerol intolerance,’ triggered by the consumption of the iced slushy drink. This revelation highlighted the grave consequences that unsuspecting individuals could face from seemingly innocuous food and beverage choices.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued a stern warning in response to these distressing incidents, emphasizing the potential health hazards associated with elevated 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 vulnerable to experiencing headaches and nausea as a result of consuming these beverages.
Adam Hardgrave, the FSA’s Head of Additives, stated, “While the symptoms of glycerol intoxication are typically mild, it is crucial for parents to be aware of the risks—especially with 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 appreciate those manufacturers who have already taken measures to reduce glycerol levels, and those who have committed to implementing our new guidelines.”