Teenager Collapses after Energy Drink Binge at Marathon 'LAN Party'

A 14-year-old Norwegian boy fell into a coma after drinking four litres of an energy drink in a 16-hour computer games marathon.

Henrik Eide Dahl fainted at school at the end of a "LAN Party", a group gaming session where a game is played by many people over a Local Area Network.

"I was playing Call of Duty. Then everything went dark and I passed out," Dahl said.

"When I woke up, I was terrified," he continued.

Dahl was flown to a hospital in Lillehammer where he fell into a coma. He was kept alive by a respirator and a drip.

"The first thing I remember from the hospital is that my brothers were sitting at the edge of the bed and crying," he said.

Dahl blamed the energy drink for the collapse and not the marathon gaming session.

"It has been very scary, and I have learned that it is not good to drink that much energy drink.

"It's getting better and better every day. I'm starting to feel normal now."

Anne Duns, the doctor who treated Dahl, said he had nearly died. She blamed the high-caffeine energy drink.

"It was life-threatening. The central nervous system, cardiovascular system, lungs and kidneys were affected.

"We find no underlying disease in Henry, so for now we are attributing this to the consumption of large amounts of energy drink."

Helle Meltzer of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said that Dahl's collapse may have come about from ingredients other than caffeine in the energy drinks.

"I've never heard of such a powerful reaction to caffeine," Meltzer said.

"But there are more substances in energy drinks [other] than caffeine, including some amino acids and artificial sweeteners, so it may be a combination of several things in the drink triggered the reaction."

Dahl is on medication but expected to make a full recovery.