Crying youngster who sought cooling beverages while playing on hot day suffers bowel damage; doctors warn of dangers of cold drinks
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenFran Luin BeijingPublished: 9:00am, 15 Jun 2026The case of a seven-year-old Chinese boy who had to be sent to an intensive care unit (ICU) after drinking just two iced drinks has triggered a heated online discussion.
The boy from central China’s Henan province was admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University recently.
He showed symptoms of stomachache and vomiting, and was diagnosed with acute volvulus, a bowel obstruction resulting from a loop of intestine twisting around itself and its supporting tissue.
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.
