A FOUR-year-old boy started hallucinating then fell unconscious within an hour of drinking a slushy.
Little Albie Pegg was then rushed to hospital, where he was struggling to breathe and doctors warned he might not make it.
Kennedy NewsAlbie Pegg suffered an adverse reaction to an iced slushy drink[/caption]
Mum Beth Green, 24, with her little boy in hospitalKennedy News
His mum Beth Green now wants to warn other parents about the ice drinks, which she had no idea could be so dangerous.
The 24-year-old said: “This is something that every child has which is marketed towards children at theme parks, bowling, cinemas – that drink is always there.
“[The government] needs to raise the limit on the guidelines. I don’t think they should be sold to under-10s.
“We nearly lost our son’s life. We’ve never experienced anything like this before, he’s always been a fit and healthy child.”
Albie had been bowling with a friend after school on October 13, 2023, before gulping down a small strawberry-flavoured iced slushy drink.
Within 30 minutes, Beth said the reception pupil appeared “tired and agitated” in the back of the car.
But she grew increasingly concerned when Albie started “hallucinating”, “clawing at his face” and falling unconscious.
The tot was rushed to hospital, where medics discovered his blood sugar levels were dangerously low and his heartbeat “extremely slow”.
At one stage, Beth and her partner Fred, 24, feared their child wouldn’t make it.
A doctor allegedly told them if they hadn’t brought Albie in, it would have been fatal.
Months later, the parents reportedly discovered Albie had suffered “glycerol intolerance”.
Glycerol (E422) is a key ingredient in crushed ice drinks to help keep them at the right consistency.
The Food Standard Agency (FSA) issued new voluntary industry guidance in August 2023, advising that slushies should not be sold to children aged four and under.
At very high levels, glycerol intoxication can cause shock, hypoglycaemia and loss of consciousness, according to the government body.
We got told by the leading consultant that if we’d taken him home instead of hospital, he would’ve died. It was a very scary realisation.
Beth Green
Beth, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, said: “Albie had had a slushy at the bowling alley before.
“He had them frequently when it was warmer weather, but it wasn’t something that was constant – it was just a nice little treat for him.
“Albie and his friend were happy and excited when they finished their slushies, but at about 4.15pm he started getting a bit tired and agitated and didn’t want to play anymore.
“We thought he’d just had 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.
“We went to McDonald’s because we thought, ‘Maybe he just needs a pick-me-up’, but he wouldn’t eat his food.”
After dropping Albie’s pal off at home, Beth and Fred noticed their son began exhibiting strange behaviours – including scratching himself and apparently hallucinating.
“It was a really strange experience,” Beth said.
“He kept screaming, ‘No’ and ‘Leave me alone’ in his car seat. He was screaming then going floppy again.
“I thought, ‘Maybe he has a virus and is agitated’, but he started clawing at himself and couldn’t keep himself awake. He wasn’t responding.”
The dangers of slushy drinks
Glycerol is a sweetener found naturally in beer and honey and added to products like cereal bars, marshmallows and chewing gum.
It also prevents slushy drinks from freezing solid, so they maintain their “slush” properties.
But if a child drinks too many slushies, then it can leave them with symptoms that are similar to being drunk.
Children may also suffer from headaches and sickness.
If several slushies are consumed within a short period, it can cause shock, hypoglycaemia and loss of consciousness in younger kids.
Children under four should not be given slush-style drinks, according to guidelines by Food Standards Scotland.
Children over the age of four are considered unlikely to suffer ill-effects from drinking one slushy drink.
This is because the effects of glycerol are related to body weight.
Adam Hardgrave, head of additives at the regulator, said: “The symptoms of glycerol intoxication are usually mild but 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.”
The couple phoned Albie’s grandma, who advised taking him to A&E for a check-up.
But by this point, he was barely breathing.
“He was a dead weight when I carried him through the door, he was unconscious,” Beth said.
“They were shaking him, trying to wake him up, but he wasn’t responding.
“They took him to the resus room where they started giving him rescue breaths because he wasn’t breathing by himself and his heartbeat was extremely low. They had to resuscitate him.
“We didn’t know what was going on. They thought he might have sepsis or an infection. They had to treat him for everything.
“They asked, ‘Is there any chance he could’ve got hold of drugs or been exposed to insulin?’
“We got told by the leading consultant that if we’d taken him home instead of hospital, he would’ve died. It was a very scary realisation.”
‘We were shocked’
Albie, who was drifting in and out of consciousness, was then taken from George Eliot Hospital to the high-dependency unit at University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire.
“We didn’t know if he would make it through the night, it was horrific,” Beth said.
“They thought he could be diabetic because his blood sugar levels were so low, and there were talks of a hereditary disorder.”
Albie was admitted for three days before his condition stabilised and he was allowed to return home.
After further testing by Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Beth and Fred were told Albie’s episode was likely due to glycerol intolerance after ingesting a slushy drink.
Beth said she was “shocked” to learn a drink marketed towards children could cause such an adverse reaction.
She now believes the recommended age to have the iced drink should be raised to 10.
Beth said: “We were shocked. He’d had slushies so many times before. Why had he only had a reaction now?
“I was angry that it was something so simple. I’m a parent that’s conscious of what her child consumes.”
Kennedy NewsHis parents were terrified he might not make it[/caption]
Kennedy NewsFred Pegg, Beth Green and little Albie , from Warwickshire[/caption]
‘We nearly lost our son’s life,’ mum Beth saidKennedy News
Kennedy NewsThe four-year-old fell unconscious and was struggling to breathe[/caption]
Kennedy NewsAlbie was rushed to hospital after a bowling trip with a friend[/caption]
GettyChildren under four should not be given slush-style drinks, according to guidelines by Food Standards Scotland[/caption]