Source: CBS 47 News
Publication Date: September 18, 2024
Medical Toxicologist: Sonya Rashid, MD
Keywords/Topics: Caffeine overdose

Poison Control seeing an increase in kids being poisoned by caffeine in Northeast Florida

By Meghan Moriarty

Florida’s Poison Control Centers are seeing an increase in the number of kids getting caffeine poisoning.

“As an emergency medicine doctor, I’ve seen patients come in with signs of caffeine toxicity,” Dr. Sonya Rashid said. “Their hearts are beating pretty fast. You’re feeling kind of jittery, anxious.”

Dr. Rashid is a Medical Toxicologist and works at the Florida Poison Control Center in Jacksonville. She said more and more young people are consuming energy drinks and having adverse effects.

“There are no legislations in terms of how old you have to be in order to buy an energy drink,” Dr. Rashid said. “Some of these energy drinks have 200-300 milligrams of caffeine. To put that into context, a cup of coffee is about 100 milligrams, max, of caffeine.”

So far this year, there have been 98 patients with caffeine poisoning, in Florida, according to poison control. 64 of those patients were under the age of 19. Forty of those patients were five years old or younger.

The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly advises against children and teens consuming any type of energy drink.

“Kids are already naturally full of lots of energy, and so when they’re getting into caffeine of caffeinated beverages—they are just off the walls,” Dr. Rashid said. “Sometimes that can cause seizures in some kids.”

Florida Poison Control recommends checking the back of a canned drink for the caffeine content, limiting caffeine for teenagers, and if you believe your child is suffering from poisoning, call poison control 1-800-222-1222. You can also call if you have questions about caffeine poisoning or any other poison control-related inquiries.