A mother has issued an urgent warning over the sale of slushies to children after her toddler son became ‘intoxicated’ before falling unconscious after sipping on the iced beverage.
Victoria Anderson, 29, from Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland, had taken her youngest son, three-year-old Angus, and an elder sibling out shopping on January 4.
Not long after the trio ventured out, Angus requested a raspberry-flavoured slushie after spotting the bright, pink-coloured ice drink while in a local corner shop.
Without thinking twice, Victoria purchased the drink for her son, who had ‘never had a slushie before,’ only for horror to unfold soon after Angus wolfed down the cold, sweet beverage.
Approximately 30 minutes later, while in another store, the three-year-old unexpectedly collapsed and fell unconscious, leaving a panicked Victoria fearing for his life.
A mother has issued an urgent warning over the sale of slushies to children after her toddler son suffered a ‘fit’ before falling unconscious after sipping on the iced beverage
Mother Victoria Anderson, 29, with father Sean Donnelly, 29, and their sons Angus (left), 3, and Archie (right), 5
The mother-of-five said: ‘After drinking the slushy, we went into another shop and Angus kept saying he wanted to go home.
‘I thought he’d thrown himself on the floor having a temper tantrum, but when I looked his eyes were at the back of his head and he was having a seizure. He went limp as anything.’
She added: ‘I started screaming “somebody get me an ambulance.” I thought I’d lost him. His body went stone cold.’
The mother-of-five described how Angus’ body remained limp and ‘stone cold’ as paramedics rushed to the scene and attempted to revive the toddler, whose blood sugars became dangerously low.
Angus was quickly bluelighted to Glasgow Children’s Hospital, where he remained unconscious for two hours while doctors undertook tests to determine the cause of his episode.
Victoria said: ‘He was unconscious for about two hours. It was the scariest thing I’d ever experienced. He was well that day – there was nothing obviously wrong with him. There’s nothing like this in the family.
‘I was scared he would die, considering the way he went down and how limp he was and how unresponsive he was. They gave him a jab in the leg and he wasn’t even flinching.’
Eventually, Victoria was given the news that the three-year-old had suffered from glycerol toxicity – which can be caused by through the consumption of slushies.
Angus was quickly bluelighted to Glasgow Children’s Hospital, where Victoria was given the news that the three-year-old had suffered from glycerol toxicity – which can be caused by through the consumption of slushies
She said: ‘They’d asked what he’d eaten and drank that day and I told them about the slushy. The doctors said the slushy had caused glycerol toxicity. His blood sugars went very low.
‘It’s not something I’d ever heard of before. There was definitely a link to the slushy.’
According to the Food Standards Agency, slushies can contain glycerol as a substitute for sugar to create the slush effect.
While glycerol is found in some other foods, it is added at much lower quantities than in slush ice drinks.
If a child consumes excessive amounts of glycerol, it can lead to glycerol intoxication, which in turn can cause headaches, sickness, shock, a ‘drunk-like state,’ hypoglycaemia and loss of consciousness.
In the aftermath of the nightmarish experience, Victoria is now calling for a ban on slushies to be served to children
FSA chiefs based their recommendations on a 350ml-sized drink, similar to ones available in shops and cinemas across the UK (Photo: Getty)
It is advised that children under four years of age avoid drinking slushies due to the fact the effects of glycerol are related to body weight.
In the aftermath of the nightmarish experience, Victoria is now calling for a ban on slushies to be served to children.
The mother said: ‘I think slushies should be banned altogether or at the very least there needs to be a warning sign for under-4s. But this could potentially happen to any kid of any age.
‘I’ll never buy slushies again. You just don’t know what’s in these drinks. I just want to make as many mums aware as possible what can happen buying these drinks.’
This comes as the Food Standards Agency ruled last year that Tango Ice Blast drinks and slushies are ‘not fit for under-4s’ and that free drink refills should be stopped.
As part of the new guidelines, they have warned cinemas, restaurants and shops to put a stop to promotions such as ‘free refills for under 10s’.
