My first overdose

When I was about 12, my mum bought a tin of Milo for us kids. With four kids in the house a tin of Milo never lasted very long. After I noticed the tin in the cupboard I thought to myself, "Fuck my brothers and sister, this time I'm going to make sure I get my fair share".

That afternoon I made up a glass of Milo, probably about a 50/50 mix of milk and Milo. It was delicious. After that I made myself another glass, then another glass. It was excellent and I was very pleased with my greediness.

That night I woke up during the night with a really itchy head.

I scratched and scratched and scratched.

When I got up in the morning, bleary eyed I checked my scalp for what I assumed was knits (having never had them before). There was no sign of knits, so off to school I went.

As the day progressed my neck started to get itchey, so

I scratched and scratched and scratched.

By the end of the day my entire torso was covered in enormous hives. Mum took me to the doctor who told me that it was the worst allergic reaction he had ever seen. It seemed to be subsiding so he left me with the warning that if it went anywhere near my mouth, or if my tongue started to swell, to get my arse to hospital.

A couple of hours later I was playing with my neighbours. I noticed my lips were getting a bit tingly, so I told mum and she took me straight to hospital. When I arrived they gave me some strange little blue pills, and then gave me an injection in my stomach. Hardcore! I hung around for a couple of hours, and went home as right as rain.

The doctor told me to write down everything I had eaten in the last 24 hours to see if I could identify anything new I had eaten which may have caused the allergic reaction. Milo was obviously the culprit. When you look at the Nutrition Information Panel (or NIP if you are in the packaging business) on a Milo can, a suggested serving size contains twice your recommended daily intake for pretty much everything, including vitamin A, B, C etc.

It's no wonder my body freaked out.

I haven't had any Milo since.