Experts warn parents who will throw parties these holidays to keep unfinished beer bottles and wine glasses out of reach of kids after thousands of toddlers have been rushed to Helen DeVos Children's Hospital every year due to drunkenness. Few of those hospital visits are from children barely can walk who are drunk.
These holidays, parties and reunions are everywhere, with beers and wines always present. Now toddlers may pick those beers and wines half-drunk and out of curiosity may drink them when dad and mom are not looking. Dr. Erica Michiels, associate medical director for pediatric department at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, said to WWLP that a child is just acting maybe a little sleepy or at bedtime a bit more stumbly than they usually are. However parents don't necessarily pick up that there is a problem because they knew that lots of children had not mastered walking yet, Michiels pointed out.
Some parents may not have noticed their child's drunkenness and so might not be alarmed, but experts said it's not okay as it can cause a seizure to the toddlers. Dr. Richard So, a pediatrician at Cleveland Clinic Children's, said drunk toddlers could experience commas, seizures, and worst death - if their blood sugar level drops very low. Doctors said that is because the livers of the toddlers cannot correctly process the alcohol, causing the amount of their blood sugar to drop, often to dangerous drops.
Preventing the issue can be as easy as keeping the half-drunk beer bottles and wine glasses out of reach of children. Doctors also suggested parents call a specialist when they suspect their kids have drunk alcohol.
"Call the specialist and describe what it is happening to the child right now and get the best advice," Today quoted Dr. Marcel Casavant, the chief of toxicology at Nationwide Children's Hospital and Central Ohio Poison Center, as saying. He added that parents should certainly put the safety of their children above their embarrassment.
