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What to Do If Your Child Drinks Too Much Caffeine

Contact Poison Control promptly if your child may have had too much caffeine. Know the emergency signs, what information to provide, and why you should not induce vomiting.
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If your child may have had too much caffeine, contact Poison Control now for advice specific to the product and amount. In the United States, call 1-800-222-1222 or use webPOISONCONTROL. Call 911 or your local emergency number immediately if your child is unconscious, having a seizure, struggling to breathe, or cannot be awakened.

What to do right now

  1. Check for emergency signs. Call 911 or your local emergency number if your child is unconscious, having a seizure, having trouble breathing, or cannot be awakened.
  2. Contact Poison Control promptly. In the US, call 1-800-222-1222 or use webPOISONCONTROL. Both options are free, confidential, and available 24/7. Do not wait for symptoms to appear before asking for advice. Outside the US, contact your local poison service; use emergency services for urgent symptoms.
  3. Keep the packaging. Have the product name and label available. Be ready to give the child’s age, the amount consumed if known, when it happened, any symptoms, and relevant medical history, medicines, or allergies. Poison Control may also ask for the child’s weight. Do not guess an amount.
  4. Do not induce vomiting. Do not use syrup of ipecac. Follow the poison specialist’s instructions for this exposure.

Which symptoms need urgent medical help?

After a large caffeine intake, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises getting medical help right away if a child has a racing or irregular heartbeat, fast breathing, uncontrollable tremors, anxiety, or hyperactivity.

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Caffeine effects vary. They can include shaky hands or stomach upset; acute overdose may also cause nausea, vomiting, irritability, headache, a fast heart rate, high blood pressure, or changes in mental state. Severe overdose can cause seizures. A symptom list or estimated dose cannot establish that a child is safe, so get individualized advice from Poison Control rather than deciding to observe at home on your own. Poison Control says death from acute caffeine overdose is rare, but a suspected excessive exposure still merits prompt advice.

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Check what the child consumed

Caffeine can be found in coffee, tea, chocolate, cola, energy drinks, foods with added caffeine, over-the-counter alertness products, and products containing guarana. Some energy products also contain other stimulants. Identify the exact product and check its label; reporting only that it was a drink or supplement may leave out important information.

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The AAP notes that some caffeine pouches may contain as much as 200 mg. That is a product-content observation, not a safe-dose threshold for a child.

How to reach Poison Control in the United States

Option How to use it What it provides
Phone Call 1-800-222-1222 Free, confidential, 24/7 access to your regional poison center.
Online Use webPOISONCONTROL Free, confidential, 24/7 online recommendations.

Use emergency services instead of waiting for either route when your child has emergency signs such as unconsciousness, a seizure, or trouble breathing. Poison Control’s caffeine guidance also recommends using its online tool or calling the poison center if you think someone has consumed too much caffeine.

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Why caffeine exposure deserves attention

The AAP reported that US poison-control calls about young people having reactions to energy drinks rose 24% in 2023. It also reported that caffeine-related emergency-department visits among US middle- and high-school students nearly doubled from 2017 to 2023. These are population-level trends, not estimates of an individual child’s risk.

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Reduce the chance of another exposure

The AAP says avoiding caffeine is the best choice for children. Keep caffeine-containing drinks, foods, and medicines out of reach, and check labels. Count possible caffeine sources across drinks, foods, and over-the-counter medicines rather than looking only at beverages.

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This guidance does not replace advice from your child’s pediatrician; treatment can vary with the child’s circumstances.

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