Doctors try to stop under-eights drinking slushies

Children should wholly debar "slushy" crystal drinks containing glycerol, which tin marque them precise ill, until they are astatine slightest 8 years old, accidental researchers calling for authoritative public-health proposal to change.

The researchers studied the cases of 21 two-to-seven-year-olds successful the UK and Ireland who needed exigency attraction soon aft drinking a slushy product.

The brightly coloured drinks are designed to entreaty to children - but astir incorporate the people occurring sweetener glycerol, alternatively of sugar, to halt them freezing coagulated and springiness the slushy effect.

Current Food Standards Agency (FSA) proposal says under-fives should debar the drinks and under-11s should person nary much than one.

And if a young kid drinks a slushy excessively quickly, glycerol intoxication could origin shock, hypoglycaemia (low humor sugar) and nonaccomplishment of consciousness.

Arla, two, and Albie, four, some ended up successful hospital.

And each of the children successful the study, published successful the diary Archives of Disease successful Childhood, needed accident-and-emergency (A&E) treatment, aft becoming acutely ill, soon aft having the drinks, mostly betwixt 2018 and 2024, with "glycerol intoxication syndrome":

• most mislaid consciousness and showed signs of debased sweetener and precocious acidity successful the blood.
• four needed encephalon scans
• one had a seizure

The children each recovered and were discharged from hospital, with proposal to debar slushies.

The survey authors, paediatricians moving successful the UK and Ireland, say: "There is mediocre transparency astir slush-ice-drink glycerol concentration.

"Estimating a harmless dose is truthful not easy."

Recommendations based connected a child's value would beryllium hard for parents to interpret.

And however rapidly a slushy is drunk and whether with a repast oregon aft workout tin besides beryllium factors.

One crushed for the caller emergence successful children becoming sick whitethorn beryllium the little sweetener contented of the slushies, which is charismatic to parents.

In countries with nary sweetener tax, they incorporate overmuch much glucose and often nary glycerol astatine all, the authors say.