20,000 in Hospital After Energy Drinks

Greetings, ATS!

While I enjoy the occasional caffeine-ladened Pepsi, I've never tried one of the Energy drinks that are everywhere. Just seemed too much to me, especially since caffeine isn't that great for you.

Anyway, came across this article about energy drinks.

the number of emergency room visits following the consumption of energy drinks has doubled nationwide: from 10,000 to 20,000 between 2007 and 2011, according to the results of a government survey. Most of the hospital visits were from teens and young adults. More than half of the patients had not been drinking alcohol.

The energy drinks alone can cause insomnia, nervousness, headache, fast heartbeat and seizures that are severe enough to require emergency care.

Edit to add: Full article at this link

Thanks to alfa 1 for pointing out the full report. It seems the problem comes more from drinking multiple energy drinks or combing them with other medications/alcohol.

Moderation....one drink probably isn't going to do you any harm. But not a good idea to chug them, methinks.

The full article that short snippet comes from seems to indicate the only problem is drinking MULTIPLE energy drinks in the one sitting.
(Something that the cans already have a warning label against)




Edit - the actual SAMHSA Report in full, pdf form, is at this link

Some people can handle them. Others cant. Mix them with alcohol is probably the worst thing to do though...

I have a couple cans of them in the morning shifts of work... I'm a shift worker and my morning shifts are always tiring for me because i'm a night owl mate. Two of them and i'm awake. Anything less and i'm dozy as hell.

I think its important to practice moderation. I would think one drink wouldn't be a big deal (unless your on medicine or you've already had twelve cups of coffee). But drinking several at once....not smart.

Where's this, the US or the UK?

I only ever drink the stuff if i have to go on a long drive, to keep me sharp.

Might just stick to coffee from now on though.

Originally posted by alfa1

The full article that short snippet comes from seems to indicate the only problem is drinking MULTIPLE energy drinks in the one sitting.
(Something that the cans already have a warning label against)

And apparently the numbers come from a survey, but the Beverage companies say the survey didnt ask the reason WHY they were at the hospital in the first place.

So it seems to be...
1. Broken Leg
2. Go to hospital, get given a survey
3. Declared as yet another statistic of evil energy drinks.


Edit - the actual SAMHSA Report in full, pdf form, is at this link

edit on 17-1-2013 by alfa1 because: (no reason given)

(Blushing)

Thanks for this. I will amend my original post to include this information.

reply to post by smyleegrl


I have never had an energy drink; and after hearing the health problems caused by them; I never will.

Every morning I have the (old fashioned) 2 cups of black coffee; and I have no more until the next day.

Really...it is so much better to get energy from sleep, good food, exercise and spending time with people we love and who love us.

Originally posted by DaRAGE
Some people can handle them. Others cant. Mix them with alcohol is probably the worst thing to do though...

I have a couple cans of them in the morning shifts of work... I'm a shift worker and my morning shifts are always tiring for me because i'm a night owl mate. Two of them and i'm awake. Anything less and i'm dozy as hell.

It's true that some people can handle caffeine better than others. My husband ingests HUGE amounts of caffeine daily, yet he has no trouble sleeping at night. If I have one cup of coffee, or one caffeinated soft drink, I'm up for 2 days. Caffeine makes me miserable. I would be one of those people in the emergency room after one energy drink.

I don't touch energy drinks but will sometimes buy 5 hour energy shots.

However, neither work as well as a cup of black coffee.

All these new fangled energy drinks are rubbish, what happened to good old fashioned Lucozade?
Major issue is a lot of them are aimed at kids, they'll knock them back before school, in school, any old time like water, either that or people just having them for the sake of it. Fair enough if you are hard at work and need a little boost, but chugging them back while you watch Jeremy Kyle and eat crisps is another thing.

After reading the PDF report by SAMHSA, the story appears to be...

Energy drinks dont contain any more caffeine than a strong cup of coffee.
Dont drink more than one in any sitting.
Dont combine with drugs or alcohol.

Havnt seen any evidence that the occasional one (perhaps one to get you awake in the morning) is any problem at all. No more so than the aforementioned coffee.

This is worrying. In my country, Norway, Redbull was illegal to sell due to its high caffeine content. And guarana. But, today the food-lobby has won and small kids drink these beverages much. There are many stores that don't sell this to young kids, though. I remember I knew a guy from Africa. He had been poor, but his teeth was flawless. He was from an area that didn't have enough money to buy soda.

Alfa1 : These are numbers that stem from energy-drinks alone, so I can assure you that there are no broken feet in this statistic. People with a heart that is acting up should always consult a doctor. It's scary and it's one of those medical emergencies where the only correct alternative is to find a doctor.

DaRage: Stay off these drinks when you can and don't make it a habit. Also, the sun is your friend. Get to bed earlier and get up earlier. It's more healthy that way. Save those caffeine-bombs to the days that you are super-groggy and nothing else works. Coffee has a diminishing effect over time, so if you play your cards right you can do the same with one cup coffee as two energy-drinks. And if you continue to drink those drinks, at least drink some water afterwards to save your teeth.

I believe it. I used to have at least one 5 hour energy a day, but I would get really jittery if I didn't eat first. I went to my usual convenient store one day to buy one and the 5 hour energy rep was there. The guy at the counter told him that I was their biggest customer. After hearing this the rep took me to the side and told me that one every once in a while is fine, but that I should slow down.

Now I drink the mio energy that you squirt into your water. I like it better because you have to drink water with it so you know that you're not getting hydrated.

I've just gotten to where I feel useless with out something. When I drink an energy drink I feel like super mom, but with out one I'm tired and grumpy. I guess I've become pretty dependent on them.

reply to post by smyleegrl

Thanks for this.

On New Year's Eve I listened to my sister give our nephew a dressing down for having 3 Monster energy drinks (in a row) to get him through the festivities. My sis was a teacher and cheer coach and had to set thru special training about energy drinks and athletics.

If anyone wants to check the caffiene content of their favorite drink, here's a handy website: www.energyfiend.com. It has the numbers for coffee, tea, soda, and energy drinks.

I've had a sip of a couple of them, only because my oldest had a problem with them for a while.
I think they taste terrible! Don't know how people can drink them.

I showed my son a few reports about drinking multiples and ate least he has back offed them quite a bit.

I am not surprised…

I worked in A&E for a while I remember one morning we had one of the other nurses form one of the wards come to us after a nightshift. This nurse had been awake for 30 hours and has been drinking Red Bull all night, she said about a can a hour for 12 hours, let’s just say her ECG looked very interesting with the palpitations she was having.

I never drink the stuff, it tastes like war pee.

I believe people are not understanding or refusing to how dangerous these drinks can be.

Last summer my kids two friends 8 years old realized they can buy these drinks in nearest gas station. Having these drinks they went totally macho and made them believe that theyare almost adults sort of, they bicycled to our house and bragged to my kid, they both were drinking from the can and had another ones waiting on their bicycle racks. I asked if their parents know what you are doing and do you understand those are dangerous. Both kid had no permission to drink these from their parents... my own kid refused to drink as i have informed him its dangerous and specially for him as he has type 1 diabetes.

They are trying to make a limit 18 years old for these by the law, its a shame places like this gas station sells these drinks to minors too.. if something happens who should you blame. Parents not to keep eyes on their kids or stores not using common sense ?

Best solution, IMO, would be to just give them more and more of the stuff and let natural selection take its course.

Anybody stupid enough to OD on this stuff would probably do well to be removed from the gene pool.

Red Bull type drinks are evil. Can't even go near anyone who's been drinking the stuff without wanting to bowke at the smell.

Blame the parents for not educating their kids on what they're drinking. Its that simple.

It isnt as if the drink trys to avoid telling consumers whats in it, the energy drink tells you everything it has in it.

I drink Mountain Dew before I train, I drink it half an hour before I train and only drink a 500ml bottle. I can feel it after I train for about half hour, and thats with a good hour and half worth of training. (Cardio/Weights)

I see no reason for children to drink these energy drinks. There only needed if they are used for a sport or weight training, something that needs allot of energy.

If you educate your child enough, you wouldnt have to worry about this crap