A terrified mother has warned of the dangers of popular slushy drinks after her two, young sons suffered what appeared to be a dangerous reaction to the controversial beverages.
Roxy Wallis, from Cambridgeshire, was shocked to find her sons vomiting, deathly pale and looking ‘lifeless’ minutes after consuming just 300ml of the drinks, equivalent to less than a can of Coke.
The 36-year-old believes they suffered from glycerol toxicity — dangerously low blood sugar triggered by iced artificially sweetened slushies.
The photographer said the children narrowly escaped a hospital admission by drinking a can of sugary pop soon afterwards, which raised their blood sugars enough to relieve the symptoms.
It comes a week after experts issued an alarming safety warning over the drinks.
A group of scientists reviewed the medical notes of 21 children who became severely unwell shortly after consuming a slushy, and urged under eight year-olds to avoid them.
Currently, official guidance from food safety watchdogs only advises against the drinks for under four year-olds.
The problem lies with the sweetening agent glycerol, a sugar substitute that prevents slush drinks from freezing.
Roxy Wallis feared she would have to take her sons Austin (back) and Ted (front) to hospital after they suddenly fell ill and lethargic after consuming popular slushy drinks
She said the normally ‘bubbly’ pair became sickened within mere minutes of consuming the drinks
While older children and adults are able to process glycerol quickly, the smaller bodies of younger children can’t, leading to a build-up of the substance that can cause a drastic drop in blood sugar and water.
At a mild level this can trigger signs of dehydration like headaches and nausea.
But in rare cases it can cause hypoglycaemia — a low blood sugar condition usually associated with diabetes — which leads to trembling, dizziness, seizures and in worst-case scenarios, coma.
Now Ms Wallis is backing calls for a wider ban and is speaking out to warn other parents of the little known danger.
In February last year, she bought her sons Austin and Ted, then aged nine and seven, slushies from a restaurant in Peterborough as a half-term-treat.
But within minutes of sipping the drinks each became ‘lethargic and looked pale’, with Ted vomiting.
Worrying images taken by the mother-of-three show the pair looking pale and slumped in their seats with their eyes closed.
She initially suspected they had food poisoning, however a quick internet search revealed the connection between the drinks and glycerol toxicity.
Ms Wallis then gave each of them a sugary fizzy drink in order to boost their blood sugar levels, which she said perked them up immediately.
Ms Wallis also said it was lucky her youngest son Ralph, now four, barely touched the slushy she bought him given he would have been hit even harder given his smaller size
Recalling the ordeal she said: ‘We took them to a restaurant as a half-term treat and when they saw the slushy machine they asked if they could have one.
‘I said they could as they are aimed at kids so I would never have thought they would have been dangerous.
‘We were walking back to the car and planning on stopping to look at the shops but they weren’t well enough.’
It was then that the seriousness of their condition became apparent.
‘At this point my oldest son looked pale and felt sick but wasn’t as bad as he was a bit bigger than his middle brother,’ she said.
‘I thought it was really bizarre that they both felt ill and thought it might have been food poisoning — but this didn’t add up as you’re usually ill hours after.’
Ms Wallis added: ‘I found out glycerol can dramatically drop blood sugar levels so I stopped off at a shop on the way home and bought them both a fizzy drink.’
‘Within 10 or 15 minutes (of having the fizzy drink) they had their colour back.
‘If they hadn’t improved straight away I would have packed a bag and taken them straight to hospital.’
She has now banned her children from having the drinks until they are at least 10-years-old and supports efforts to restrict their sale to younger children.
‘It makes me feel that there should be a definite age limit on them. It’s scary and concerning,’ she said.
‘When you go to every single attraction, they are everywhere. They are quite a cheap treat and really easily accessible.’
The case is just the latest in a wave of young children being sickened after consuming slushies.
Earlier this week a mother shared how her four-year-old was left ‘floppy and unconscious’ and rushed to hospital after consuming a drink at a children’s play centre.
The latest case comes after four year-old Marnie Moore was forced to spend three days in hospital after consuming a 500ml slushy drink
Experts have previously warned a string of glycerol intoxication cases may be an ‘unintended consequence’ of the sugar tax.
Slushies were traditionally made with a sugar solution to prevent the liquid ingredients from fully freezing, at about 12g of sugar per 100ml.
But formulas using glycerol only need 5g per 100ml to achieve the same result.
Authorities have previously warned that just one 350ml drink containing the equivalent of about 17.5g, (about three teaspoons) of glycerol, could theoretically tip under-fours over the ‘safe’ threshold.
But experts warn older children can also be at risk of glycerol intoxication from consuming multiple E422-laden drinks in quick succession.
According to regulator the Food Standards Agency most slushies contain around 16g of glycerol.
However, there is no maximum amount of glycerol that manufacturers have to legally adhere to.
Most brands don’t state how much glycerol is in each slushy.
Some brands have already removed glycerol from their recipes in response to the concerns about the ingredient, with Slush Puppie being one of them.
