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Energy Drinks Sending Kids to Emergency RoomsOverconsumption of caffeine, other stimulants, can be dangerousRelated Content
ANCHORAGE - As fridge space continues to be taken by energy drink companies, young people continue to experiment. The New York Times is reporting that a Maryland mother is suing Monster Beverage after her 14-year-old daughter drank a number of the energy drinks and died. A medical examiner report says she died of a heart attack due to caffeine toxicity. But the Food and Drug Administration told the NYT there’s no proven link yet between the girl's death and the drink. In Anchorage, a student at West High says she and a friend experimented with the Monster energy drink for a whole summer. "I like to stay up really really late, 'til like 6 in the morning so I drink 5 to 6 from midnight to 6 a.m.,” said the student. But over-consuming could land you in the emergency room. “Large quantities in a short period of time is when we start to see people have symptoms from these drinks,” said Dr. David Cadogan, an emergency physician at Alaska Regional Hospital. Dr. Cadogan says he usually sees teens and people in their 20s seeking help in the early hours of the morning on weekends. “People will feel like their heart is racing; sometimes they get sweaty, jittery, anxious,” he said. Most patients are told they just have to wait until the chemicals have worn off. But, doctors warn, if someone has a pre-existing heart condition it can be a dangerous combination. “It's not just like having a cup of coffee where it’s purely caffeine. A lot of time it's combined with other stimulants so people don't know what they are taking and aren't sure how much is too much,” said Dr. Cadogan. Dietitians say not understanding how much caffeine is in a single drink is one of the problems. Young Fisher, a dietitian at Alaska Regional Hospital, says the FDA doesn't require energy drink companies to report natural sources of caffeine on labels. It’s only the synthetic caffeine produced in labs that’s included in most cases. “So the estimated caffeine that consumers see on the energy drinks might actually be quite under lower than what it actually is,” said Young Fisher. Students in Anchorage appear to be listening to the warnings. “They don't just chug the whole thing right away, I think people know that it's possibly dangerous,” said West freshman Ryland Jones. |
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D. said on Friday, Oct 26 at 8:40 AM
Common sense aint so common.
104884645Anonymous said on Wednesday, Oct 24 at 10:23 PM
Yet another issue here- I was told by a local dentist that they are seeing greatly increased tooth decay over the last 10 years or so, and attribute it to the acids in the energy drinks eating away the tooth enamel. The dentist was saying that even a lot of people who never drank much soda are drinking energy drinks, and the sugar free ones have just as much acid, leading to loss of enamel.
104765781SEAK907 said on Wednesday, Oct 24 at 10:47 AM
I just have to say it isn't the Energy drinks alone it is the combination of late nights and energy drinks that wears on the heart like the article said the student likes to stay up until 6 am practically having one per hour.. Staying up late or all night makes your heart work hard already now add 5-6 energy drinks to that not very healthy. there was an incident in Juneau where a kid died like the girl from Maryland but it just wasn't as advertised
104725451akrock said on Wednesday, Oct 24 at 8:22 AM
Caffeine is LIKELY SAFE for most adults when used appropriately. Caffeine can cause insomnia, nervousness and restlessness, stomach irritation, nausea and vomiting, increased heart rate and respiration, and other side effects. Caffeine can make sleep disorders in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) worse. Larger doses might cause headache, anxiety, agitation, chest pain, and ringing in the ears. Large doses may be UNSAFE and can cause irregular heartbeats and even death. Now that is in adults, think of what it does to a young person.
104712826Anonymous said on Wednesday, Oct 24 at 7:27 AM
there's not as much common sense to go around these days... kids aren't eating nutritious foods without so much sodium, and addtitives that weren't in the foods in the 70's and before. So they're turning to caffiene and other things more.. all the sodium takes energy
104708931skatie2shoes said on Tuesday, Oct 23 at 9:11 PM
Haven't you noticed? There is no such thing as common sense anymore. I remember that the energy drink in my day, was a couple of cokes.
104686385cooljulie said on Tuesday, Oct 23 at 7:42 PM
What on earth is wrong that teenagers need an ENERGY drink??? Good grief at that age they should have tons of energy naturally. What did kids do 20 years ago when these drinks didn't exist? I don't blame the manufacturers, or agree with lawsuits. People need common sense, and need to teach it to their kids.
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