Energy drinks hot topic after 16 year old dies from caffeine OD

It’s recommended children don’t have any caffeine.

A 16-year-old boy’s death in South Carolina last month has been blamed on ingesting too much caffeine. 

Reports say within two hours of Davis Allen Cripe’s death he had an energy drink, a large diet Mountain Dew and a cafe latte from McDonald’s. He collapsed at his high school.

The coroner says he died of a caffeine overdose.

Gundersen Health System’s Marissa Pruitt says there’s a reason the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend against caffeine until adulthood.

“Children are completely different because they’re still developing and growing,” she said, “and we don’t really have good solid advice for the amount that’s safe for them.”

Pruitt says it’s a conversation that needs to be had at home.

“A recent poll showed three out of four teens are drinking caffeinated beverages,” she said. “The bottom line is parents really need to monitor the consumption of caffeine their children are exposed to.”

Adults normally can consume the equivalent of four cups of coffee per day without any ill effects, though Pruitt says there are warning signs.

“It can cause sleeping problems,” she said. “That might be time to assess your caffeine intake.”