Glycerol intoxication symptoms as slushy ingredient found to cause illness in children
Researchers have issued a warning on the potential dangers of drinking slushies after studying cases of glycerol intoxication syndrome in young children.
The study, which was published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood on Tuesday (March 11) found a link between drinking slushies and glycerol intoxication syndrome, which all 21 children in the study were diagnosed with when taken into emergency care.
Glycerol is used in slushies to stop the ice fully freezing when there is a lack of a high sugar content, and many ice drinks have been using it as a sugar replacement following the introduction of sugar tax in the UK.
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Small children can present with symptoms indicating glycerol intoxication syndrome after drinking slushies, but what exactly are the signs of the condition?
But as this little-heard-of condition makes headlines, what exactly is it and what are its symptoms? Here's everything you need to know about glycerol intoxication syndrome.
Glycerol intoxication syndrome was identified in the study as a type of poisoning caused by consuming a high content of glycerol. This causes a sharp decrease in blood sugar called hypoglycaemia, when blood glucose is very low- 2.6 mmol/l or below.
In 13 of the children studied, (65 percent) their blood sugar was even lower, indicating severe hypoglycaemia.
While it is rare, glycerol intoxication syndrome can be fatal in some cases, and children who exhibit symptoms should seek immediate medical attention
The study listed some symptoms of glycerol intoxication syndrome, which, when combined, can indicate poisoning or metabolic disorders.
The symptoms included:
decreased consciousness
hypoglycaemia
lactic acidosis, which occurs when the body produces too much lactic acid
hypokalaemia (low potassium levels)
One child in the study also reported vomiting after drinking the slushy, and another had a seizure.
The majority of the children became unwell within an hour of drinking the slushy, which researchers pointed out are marketed towards children with their bright colours and sweet flavours.
The UK Food Standards Agency recommend that young children (four and under) shouldn't be given slushy ice drinks containing glycerol, and that those aged 10 or younger should not have more than one at a time. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) followed suit with similar guidance in 2024.
But this new research suggests that these recommendations may need updated.
They said: 'There is poor transparency around slush ice drink glycerol concentration; estimating a safe dose is therefore not easy. It is also likely that speed and dose of ingestion, along with other aspects, such as whether the drink is consumed alongside a meal or during a fasting state, or consumed after high-intensity exercise, may be contributing factors."
They then pointed out that the portion size of an average slushy (500ml) is too large for most children, especially toddlers, based on their weight. They explain that Food Standards Scotland and the FSAI suggested that 125 mg/kg of body weight per hour is the lowest dose of glycerol that is associated with negative health effects.
For a toddler this may equate to 50–220 ml of a slushy, which is less than half of an average ice drink.
The researchers concluded: "To ensure safe population-level recommendations can be easily interpreted at the individual parental level, and given the variability across an age cohort of weight, we suggest that recommendations should be based on weight rather than age."
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