Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
Many people on Chinese social media have been discussing the case of a seven-year-old Chinese boy who had to be sent to an intensive care unit after drinking two iced drinks.
The boy from central China’s Henan province was admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University.
He had a stomachache and was vomiting. He was diagnosed with acute volvulus. This is when a loop of intestine twists around itself and its supporting organ.
A doctor at the hospital, Huo Yufeng, said the child also had serious necrosis, or death of cells and living tissue, in his bowel. He said the youngster had been playing outside in the hot weather and cried for a glass of iced cola. Then, he asked for a cup of iced milk tea.
Drinking too much iced and sweetened carbonated beverages was the cause of his suffering, according to Huo.
Medical experts in China tell children, especially those under three years old, to avoid drinking a sudden large amount of iced water on hot days. Traditional Chinese medicine advises staying away from iced drinks on hot days because their qi, or energy, will be stuck.
