late one Friday evening a gurnie is hastily loaded into the back of an ambulance blue lights Flash and Sirens whail as it leaves the town hospital and races against time to a larger better equipped one miles away all the while the still body of a 4-year-old lays inside jostling as the vehicle twists and turns down every road and through any red lights his parents look on clinging to Hope and wondering how did they get here one minute he was a normal happy kid playing in drinking a slushie the next he was screaming bloody murder and clawing at his own skin and now he was on the verge of death 24-year-old Beth Green from Warwickshire in the UK took her son Alby and his friend bowling after picking them up from school on Friday October 23rd 2023 before beginning their game the four-year-old and his friends spotted the slushy machine its contents swirling into a bright red strawberry concoction that shim enticingly compelling them to excitedly ask his mom if they could indulge in the frosty beverage Beth thought it would be a nice little treat and since he enjoyed it in the past even rather frequently during warmer months she didn't think anything else of it and agreed to her son's request Alby and his friend delightedly sip their slushies while they bowled but then a mere 30 minutes later the afternoon suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse at around 4:15 Al's attitude and demeanor changed drastically he went from a bubbly happy toddler to a grumpy little boy complaining about being tired and not wanting to play any more games the sudden shift was a bit worrisome for Beth and her partner 24-year-old Fred Peg who thought Alby may have come down with a virus but they ultimately chocked up his behavior to being tired from an exciting game of bowling at the end of a long week so they called it a day and took the kids to the McDonald's next door hoping some food would lift his mood but unfortunately the diner didn't help and as she was strapping him into his car seat to leave the restaurant Alby began claing at his face and yelling hysterically before his body started going limp it was a really strange experience he kept screaming no and leave me alone in his car seat he was screaming then going floppy again she said he physically couldn't keep himself awake his head kept dropping and when the strange Behavior continued even after dropping his friend off at home Beth and Fred began to worry that something could be seriously wrong with Albi so they called for advice from Fred's mother who told them that since the doctor's offices were closed that late in the day they should take him straight to the emergency room but what came next was even more alarming as soon as we got off the phone he started hallucinating scratching himself biting himself it was just awful Beth said alp's erratic and self-destructive Behavior continued to escalate as they RAC to George Elliott hospital until suddenly he collapsed unconscious in his seat and by the time they reached the hospital Beth and Fred worried that it was already too late at this point I don't even recall if he was breathing Beth said he was a dead weight when I carried him through the door he was unconscious when they arrived staff immediately understood the gravity of the situation Beth said they pushed all of the emergency buzzers before taking the family straight through to the children's Ward it was there that a horrifying scene unfolded in front of the young parents eyes as Hospital staff tried to get Albi to come back to them they were shaking him trying to wake him up but he wasn't responding she said they took him to the resuscitation room where they started giving him rescue breaths because he wasn't breathing by himself doctors told Beth and Fred that alp's blood sugar levels had fallen to dangerously low levels and they were extremely concerned about his alarmingly low heart rate to the point that they theorized he may have unintentionally taken medications or come into contact with insulin the decision was made to transport Ali in an ambulance to the larger University Hospital covantry in Warwickshire and place him in the high dependency unit there doctors raced against time to figure out what on Earth was happening to Ali as he continued to drift in and out of Consciousness they soon realized that Al's strange symptoms were eerily similar to those seen in multiple other young children over over the past few years even as recently as earlier this year on January 4th when 29-year-old Victoria of Inver Clyde Scotland was out shopping with her children and her youngest three-year-old Angus spotted a bright pink slushie machine while in a corner shop he had never had a slushie before but Victoria didn't see the harm in treating her son to one but then about half an hour later Angus abruptly became irritable and told his mom he wanted to go home Victor and her other children assumed he was just cranky and kept walking around shopping until suddenly Angus was on the ground 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 Victoria said later she immediately began screaming for someone to call an ambulance I thought I'd lost him his body went Stone Cold not long later Angus was in the back of an ambulance rushing to the Glasgow Children's Hospital where he spent the next 2 hours unconscious and much like in alp's case the doctors informed Victoria that angus' blood sugar levels were critically low it was the scariest thing I'd ever experienced he was well that day there was nothing obviously wrong with him Victoria said so how could these two boys suffer such similar symptoms only 3 months and 3 miles apart it's pretty clear looking at the cases now that the common denominator here here is the sweet Frozen slushies that the boys drank but what's in slushies anyway obviously there's the water ice and a sugary flavored colored syrup but what else hey Meathead did you forget that I have access to all known information in existence a20 second search informed me that the cherry flavored slush puppy contains filtered water high fructose corn syrup sugar glycerin citric acid and natural flavors wait Howard back up glycerin that's it that's the problem ingredient also known as glycerol or e422 e422 a number of slushy brands use it in their syrups it is a colorless odorless liquid that acts as a sugar replacement and binder for the ice so it can keep its slushy consistency and not form into solid ice the only problem is it's toxic I know Bean it's crazy to think about isn't it why would companies put something toxic in our food especially something often marketed towards children well first of all you'd be surprised how many treats we feed ourselves and our children that are actually pretty harmful in the long run and second glycerol is not toxic enough to harm adults since they're able to process it but for children say three or four-year-olds like little Albi and Angus it's enough to cause serious harm that's because their smaller body weight means even a low amount of glycerol can quickly accumulate to toxic levels overwhelming their system before it can be properly processed glycerol has actually been on the radar of food safety experts for a long time back in 1976 when it was first introduced they didn't set a daily limit for glycerol since it is low in toxicity and doesn't cause genetic damage or cancer a decision that was supported in 1981 during a review of the restrictions however in August 2023 the UK food standards agency took recent child hospitalizations into consideration and brought in new guidelines recommending that these drinks not be sold to kids under four and curbing free refills for those under 10 it's unclear how those guidelines were supposed to be enforced but it's pretty evident that they haven't been all that effective since Beth and Victoria were not aware of the potential harm the drinks could cause their boys and as it turns out back in the hospital glycerol intoxication is exactly what doctors informed both mothers as the reason why the boys were currently fighting for their lives you're right Bean glycerol has been an additive in food and beverages since at least the late '70s so why haven't we seen more cases like these in the past well it would seem that the introduction of the UK's sugar tax in 2018 aimed at reducing sugar consumption to combat obesity is likely to blame following this manufacturers increasingly turned to glycerol as a substitute in low sugar and sugar-free drinks like slushies to avoid the extra cost and thanks to there being no limit on the amount they were allowed to use slushies varied significantly in their glycerol content depending on where they were sold but even still shouldn't there have been more cases than those we've talked about there are multiple slushy brands that market to children all over the place like movie theaters theme parks bowling alleys and even convenience stores well it's likely that the number of intoxications is actually significantly higher but since the symptoms can present themselves a lot milder than those that Albi and Angus faced parents could have brushed the reactions off as something else entirely and we know what happened to alpi and Angus they became irritable tired their temperatures cooled they lost Consciousness they had hypoglycemia or low blood sugar and Angus even had a seizure other symptoms of glycerol intoxication can include nausea vomiting headaches and shock but why do these symptoms occur what does glycerol do to the body Professor James Coulson with carda University said glycerol is very effective at absorbing excess water in the body that's why it's used to treat glaucoma which is caused by a buildup of fluid in the eye this water is then carried with the glycerol out of the body but it can also absorb a lot of sugar from the bloodstream that sudden loss of water can cause headaches and the loss of sugar can have a significant effect on the body and Professor Robin May Chief scientific adviser of the food food standards agency said that if a small child were to consume a high amount of glycerol in a short amount of time it would lead water to rush into their blood vessels essentially to compensate which would give the feeling similar to being extremely dehydrated and while that may be the case other experts are working with a theory that some children have a genetic mutation that makes glycerol especially toxic to them specifically fructose 1 six bisphosphatase deficiency can impair the production of enzymes needed to convert glycerol to glucose leading to symptoms like those shown in Albi in angus's case worse yet this condition can affect anyone of any age and unfortunately there is no way to know if this Gene is present until the possibly life-threatening reaction occurs back in the hospital where Al beade Falling In and Out Of Consciousness there was a point where his heartbeat was so weak that his parents were afraid he might pass away in fact much to their horror doctors informed them that he would not have made it if the two hadn't got him to the hospital when they did thankfully both boys have been taken to the hospital in time and were able to return home after a few days of treatment the government needs to raise the limit on the guidelines I don't think they should be sold to under 10 we nearly lost our son's life Beth said it turns out that an investigation after the incident with Albi revealed that there was a sign on the other side of the counter where Beth purchased the slushie nevertheless the FSA has now advised all slushy retailers to end any promotions allowing free refills for children under the age of 10 and have set guidelines for improved labeling to enhance consumer awareness some Brands including slush puppy have even eliminated glycerol from their products following FSA recommendations Nicholls the parent company of slush puppy stated that they made this change because their drinks are primarily sold in locations frequented by young children goes to show that we have to make sure to remain Vigilant about the contents of harmless treats like slushies even if they are seemingly made for children another thing you can do to ensure that you're informed of all the innocuous everyday things in our lives that are medical horror stories waiting to happen subscribing to our Channel and hitting the Bell so you never miss an episode you have no idea how much your one sub means to us and while you're here watch one of our other videos like this one about the man who accidentally created a chemical weapon in the kitchen setting himself and the building full of people to the emergency room