Peer-reviewed article
Case Report: Chemical gastropathy associated with Scotch mint candy ingestion
Melody Petty, David A. Gremse ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This is a case report of a 3-year-old child who had abdominal pain and refused to eat. Doctors found erosive chemical injury to the stomach lining. The child had eaten Scotch mint candies and drunk lemon-lime soda for 2 days before symptoms began. The authors suggest that eating large amounts of Scotch mints together with carbonated soda can injure the stomach lining. They stress the value of taking a careful diet history when a child has gastrointestinal mucosal injury.
Key points
- A 3-year-old child presented with abdominal pain and feeding refusal.
- The child was found to have erosive chemical gastropathy.
- Diet history showed 2 days of Scotch mint candy and lemon-lime soda ingestion before symptoms.
- Scotch mints combined with carbonated soda cause vigorous effervescence, because the candy's microporous surface rapidly releases dissolved carbon dioxide.
- A careful dietary history is important in children with gastrointestinal mucosal injury.
Limitations
This is a single case, so it cannot show how common the problem is or prove that the candy and soda caused the injury. The country comes from the metadata hint rather than the abstract, and no information on treatment or outcome is given in the abstract.
Abstract
Erosive lesions may occur in the gastric mucosa after exposure to toxic substances such as alcohol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or iron. Candies rarely contain compounds that cause mucosal erosions. However, Scotch mints in combination with carbonated sodas are known to cause vigorous effervescence. The microporous surface of Scotch mint candy allows for rapid release of dissolved carbon dioxide from carbonated soda that produces carbon dioxide bubbles. We report a case of a 3-year-old child who presented with abdominal pain and feeding refusal and was found to have erosive chemical gastropathy. Dietary history revealed ingestion of Scotch mint candies and lemon-lime soda for 2 days prior to the onset of symptoms. This case demonstrates the potential for mucosal injury when ingesting excessive amounts of Scotch mint candy and carbonated soda and the importance of a careful dietary history in children with gastrointestinal mucosal injury.