21-year-old Eloise Aimee Parry has died in hospital after overdosing on diet pills.
The student was taken to hospital after taking eight tablets of Dinitrophenol. Doctors were unable to save her and she passed away three hours later.
Her mother, 51-year-old Fiona, issued a warning to others who were thinking of buying similar diet pills from the Internet, hoping that her daughter’s tragic death will make other young men and women think about what they’re taking.
She wrote:
‘Sunday started out cool and clear.
‘By lunchtime there was a brisk wind, blowing in strong gusts that suggested a storm might be coming. Overhead the skies were bright blue, almost cloudless and full of promise.
‘I didn’t know it at the time, but Ella had bought slimming tablets on the internet. A substance called DNP that is unsuitable for human consumption because of its toxicity.
‘She had taken even more of these “slimming tablets” than recommended on the pack and had no idea just how dangerous they really were.
‘How many of us have ever thought “if one tablet works, surely it won’t hurt to take one or two more?”
‘When she started to feel unwell, she drove herself to hospital and walked into A&E.
‘She explained what she had taken and there was no great panic as she was still completely lucid and with it.
‘At this point she still seemed to be okay. That all changed when the toxicity report came back and it was clear how dire her situation was.
‘The drug was in her system, there was no anti-dote, two tablets was a lethal dose – and she had taken eight.
‘As Eloise deteriorated, the staff in A&E did all they could to stabilise her.
‘As the drug kicked in and started to make her metabolism soar, they attempted to cool her down, but they were fighting an uphill battle.
‘She was literally burning up from within. When she stopped breathing, they put her on a ventilator and carried on fighting to save her.
‘When her hearted stopped they couldn’t revive her.
‘She had crashed. She had taken so much DNP that the consequences were inevitable. They never stood a chance of saving her. She burned and crashed.
‘Outside, the wind had stopped and it now raining gently.
‘She never intended to take her own life. She just never really understood how dangerous the tablets that she took were.
‘Most of us don’t believe that a slimming tablet could possibly kill us.
‘DNP is not a miracle slimming pill. It is a deadly toxin. It is similar to TNT in structure.
‘TNT is an explosive. DNP causes your metabolism to run at an explosive level, with potentially fatal consequences.’
Chief Inspector Jennifer Mattinson told Metro that those buying tablets online need to think carefully about where they are buying them from and what they contain.
She said: “Substances from unregistered websites could put your health at risk as they could be extremely harmful, out-of-date or fake.
“An investigation is being carried out to find out where Eloise bought the pills and we ask anyone with any information that could help us to call 101.”