"During the summer, dozens of teenagers arrive at our facility due to alcohol poisoning"
They drink mostly vodka, are evacuated to the emergency room with critical blood alcohol levels, and sometimes lose consciousness. Ichilov Hospital reports dozens of cases of alcohol poisoning among teenagers aged 13-15. "Some are brought to us by ambulance while unconscious. We also saw a teenager with a head injury and another who arrived with a psychotic episode."
A disturbing phenomenon: In recent weeks, dozens of teenagers have arrived at the Ichilov Medical Center due to alcohol poisoning. Professor Miguel Glatstein, director of the toxicology service at the center, notes that during the summer there were weeks when at least two teenagers arrived almost every day. This includes children aged 13 to 15, a demographic that was rarely seen before.
The professor explains that the teenagers drink mostly vodka and simply do not know how to drink responsibly. They arrive with very high blood alcohol levels, and some are brought to us by ambulance while unconscious.
"We also saw a teenager with a head injury and another who arrived with a psychotic episode," the professor notes.
According to him, alongside treating the poisoning itself, the emergency room is required to rule out other causes for the teenager's condition. When a teenager arrives unconscious, staff must ensure they did not suffer a head injury while losing consciousness, sometimes even performing a CT scan. In addition, they check that the alcohol did not contain additional or dangerous substances.
Professor Glatstein notes that, contrary to past stereotypes, most of the teenagers arriving at the emergency room do not come from at-risk families. These are children from normative, stable homes. Parents arrive at the hospital in complete shock. The days of thinking only of "street kids" are over; this can happen in any family.
Where are their parents?
"There is almost no night that this does not happen," says Hadar (fictitious name), a resident of Herzliya. Teenagers hang around under her house late at night, shouting, listening to music, and drinking. "Usually, I shout at them from the window to be quiet, but one time I decided to go down. I saw vodka bottles in their hands and realized they were completely drunk. Every time I ask myself: where are their parents?"
According to Professor Glatstein, the danger is not limited to the poisoning itself. Drinking occurs in youth movements, in parks, or on the beaches. If a teenager gets drunk and enters the water, the chance of drowning increases significantly. Everyone knows the risks associated with the electric scooters that every teenager has—think about what happens when you add alcohol to that. Furthermore, the combination of alcohol and energy drinks can be lethal.
His message is directed primarily to parents: "I hear about parents who allow their children to drink, and sometimes even buy the alcohol for them so they won't buy it on the street. There are also parents who do not want their child to be different from everyone else, so they turn a blind eye. In my opinion, this is a mistake. If we continue to think that it is okay to let children drink because 'everyone does it,' we will continue to see more and more teenagers arriving at our facility with alcohol poisoning."
