According to KMBC, On Thursday morning, February 4, 2010, 17 year old Dakota from Carl Junction, headed off to school. He consumed 2 NOS energy drinks and fell asleep on his couch later that evening. He does not recall anything else – the next thing he remembers is waking up in the hospital the following Saturday afternoon.

On Friday morning his mother found him on the couch. She heard a “gurgling” noise and noticed that her son had turned blue. Her husband performed CPR while they waited on an ambulance. The teenager had suffered a seizure. He had no prior history of seizures.

The physicians determined that the energy drinks he consumed probably caused his seizure. Following a 5 day stay in the hospital, he wants people to know, “[Energy drinks are] not good for you.” He didn’t realize “a drink could do something like that.”

The teen drank two 16 ounce cans, consuming 520 mg of caffeine plus soda. According to Dr. Ahmed Robbie, a neurologist, drinking too much of a high-caffeine product can possibly cause seizures as well as other side effects including headaches and tremors. He advises that it can even be fatal triggering “an irregular heartbeat and severe hypertension.” It has been reported that caffeine toxicity has caused death. Caffeine is also addictive causing further problems.

Dr. Robbie states that side effects could start after consuming over 250 mg and serious side effects can occur after consuming more than 500 mg. He feels energy drinks should have better warning labels.

In light of this news story, Roswold Law Group wants to encourage you and your family to be cautious in your approach to consumer food and drink. Many of us rely upon energy drinks for a boost, and actually are under the impression that this allows us to increase our health through exercise and so forth. However, the teen injury that occurred here serves as a warning sign that consuming too much caffeine or any other product could be dangerous to your health. It pays to keep in mind that too much of anything is rarely a good thing. Your health is important to us. It is generally understood that energy drinks and highly caffeinated drinks are not suitable for children and even come with a warning advising of such. Child injuries can be devastating, and we hope parents never have to experience an incident like this.