Health warnings on slushy ice drinks should be extended to include older children as they pose a significant threat to their health, doctors have warned.
Researchers at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) found that glycerol in slushy drinks can cause “glycerol intoxication syndrome” in young children, a condition not previously identified in medical literature looking at the products.
The study looked at 21 young children across the UK and Ireland who became sick soon after drinking slushy ice drinks.
Their symptoms included reduced consciousness (drowsiness/coma) and very low blood sugar levels with high lactic acid levels. Glycerol was also found in their urine.
Case of three siblings abandoned as babies in London suburb confounds police
Irish government gave Facebook a ‘special phone’ in case of problems, former executive claims
Taoiseach to meet Trump in White House as trade war kicks off between the US and the EU
US says ‘ball in Russia’s court’ after Ukraine agrees to 30-day ceasefire
The children were examined to make sure they did not have an underlying genetic metabolic disorder – a more typical cause of such symptoms.
They all needed urgent resuscitation with intravenous glucose and fluids in emergency departments. All of the children concerned went on to make a good recovery.
The study was led by CHI metabolic paediatrician Prof Ellen Crushell, CHI chief medical scientist Patricia Fitzsimons and Dr Shona Brothwell, a specialist at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Manufacturers of slushy drinks, largely marketed at children, sometimes use glycerol rather than a high sugar content to keep the texture of their products.
The research, published on Wednesday in the British Medical Journal’s Archives of Disease in Childhood, has led health authorities to issue guidance for parents and caregivers around children’s consumption of slush ice drinks containing glycerol.
On learning about the findings last year, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) issued guidance which recommended that “children aged four years and under should not consume slush ice drinks due to potential side effects such as headaches, nausea and vomiting”. It said children aged between five and 10 should consume no more than one slushy ice drink in a day.
Prof Crushell said the current guidance should be extended to children aged under eight as a lot of milder illnesses, where children do not require hospitalisation, did not make it into the medical literature.
HSE child health public health programme lead Dr Abigail Collins said: “It should also be noted that all slush ice drinks, whether containing sugar or glycerol, convey no health benefits, and are not part of a healthy diet for children of any age.”
Minister of State for Public Health Jennifer Murnane O’Connor said she had asked the Department of Health and FSAI to review the findings of the paper.
“Public health for children is a priority for my Department and I will continue to endorse the work of agencies including the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and Safefood in this area.”
