Mistaking a drink label almost sent a 10-year-old to the hospital. Now his mom is demanding change

1 year ago 6

Kendra Fisher said her 10-year-old was almost sent to the hospital with 120 BPM after drinking PRIME energy drink.

SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. — If you haven't heard about PRIME drinks and its creators, your kids certainly have.

The popular beverage created by social media stars Logan Paul and Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, also known as KSI, launched their product in 2022. It quickly became a widespread must-buy item for their fans.

That includes Kendra Fisher's 10 and 11-year-old sons.

“It’s all over YouTube,” Fisher said.

Recently, she and her boys Elijah and Noah went to the store when both kids saw the drink on the shelves. Fisher had never heard about it, but looked at the ingredients and thought it would be safe since there was no caffeine.

However, Fisher said she didn't want to buy the eight-pack of bottles she was looking at, just two for her sons.

“We walked down the aisle a little ways and we see a display and they look exactly the same," Fisher said. "Same coloring, same logo but in a can and you can buy just a single.”

Thinking it was the same drink, she purchased two for her kids and then left the store.

The problem is, Fisher didn't realize there are two different versions of PRIME. The one she first looked at is described as a sports drink. However, she said she mistakenly purchased the energy drink. That version has 200 milligrams of caffeine which is a little more than drinking two cans of Red Bull. She said both bottles have very few differences between them.

“You really assume it’s the same thing," Fisher said.

When looking at both products, PRIME Energy comes in a can that has "Energy Drink" written at the bottom. The logo is white, and a small warning on the back reads, "Not recommended for children under 18 years of age."

PRIME Hydration comes in a plastic bottle that also has written "Hydration Drink" at the bottom and its logo is black. Still, Fisher said since the two versions she was looking at were the same color and flavor, they were too similar to distinguish. She thought she was purchasing the same beverage just in a different container.

“It’s just like Coca-Cola, you don’t think the bottles and the cans are different products,” Fisher said.

When all three got home, Elijah and Noah, who have a YouTube page of their own, recorded themselves drinking the product. Unaware of what it actually was. Fisher said while neither drank the whole can, Elijah became very sick.

“It was really scary,” she said.

Fisher claims her son started shaking and his pulse got as high as 130 BPM even while sitting still. It got to the point where she thought she called poison control multiple times and was told Elijah may have to be taken to the emergency room. After about three hours, he started feeling better and said it fortunately never got to the point of calling 911.

Kids and teenagers being taken to the hospital after getting sick from energy drinks is becoming more common, according to Doctor Gary Kirkilas, a pediatrician with Phoenix Children's Hospital. He said kids typically drink these highly caffeinated beverages either going to school or before playing sports.

“Which is kind of dangerous because the caffeine levels are much higher in these drinks,” Dr. Kirkilas said.

The typical symptoms are a racing heartbeat, nausea and vomiting. Dr. Kirkilas recommends children under the age of 12 don't consume any caffeine. He said maybe one or two cans of soda for teenagers, but that's it.

“It’s addictive, there’s a lot of side effects, so again, we just recommend not even going there,” Kirkilas said.

Fisher is now asking that PRIME redesign its bottles to make it easier for parents to distinguish what version is the sports drink and which is the energy drink so other parents don't make the same mistake she did.

“It shouldn't just look the exact same coloring, the exact same logo," she said.

This isn't the first time, complaints against PRIME have come to light.

Recently U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to investigate PRIME claiming their drinks target children and the caffeine content is too high for kids.

12News reached out to PRIME for comment but did not receive a response at the time of this story. However, co-creator Paul took to his TikTok page regarding these claims where he said the amount of caffeine in their beverages is within federal standards.