A teenage footballer in Dublin had to be hospitalised after consuming excess quantities of a leading energy drink following a game of football.
The player, who is involved with the Castleknock Celtic's U16s, spent a night in hospital recently after consuming two cans of energy drink following a football match amongst friends.
⚠️⚠️ Please forward following to parents: In the last week a member of our u16s team was admitted to Connolly Hospital followed by admission to Temple St. His presenting symptoms were swollen tongue and inability to speak clearly, he also had numbness in his arms and face.
— CastleknockCelticFC (@CastleknockCFC) June 25, 2020
According to Lorcan O'Malley, an assistant coach with the boy's team, the boy was playing an informal game of football and drank two bottles of a readily-available energy drink as a way to deal with dehydration.
After playing, he experienced discomfort and his parents decided he should go to hospital as he had numbness in his arms and face. The boy spent the night in hospital. O'Malley says the teenager was tested for drugs or alcohol in hospital, and tests came back negative. He was released the next day after being diagnosed with a 'hemiplegic migraine', which doctors feel was likely caused by the caffeine quantities in the energy drink.
"It was a horrific experience for the boy and his family. It really shook them," O'Malley said, and warned parents to be sure children and teenagers were hydrating with water while playing sport, especially during high summer.
Most energy drinks include a health warning that the drink contains high caffeine content and is not suitable for children.
