Lollapalooza Festival 2015: Dozens Sent to ER Due to Overdrinking & Heat-Related Illnesses

Numerous people who attended the  2015 Lollapalooza Festival have been sent to the hospital due to overdrinking and heat-related illnesses. According to NBC 5 Chicago, at least 27 people from the festival were sent to the ER on the first day of Lollapalooza. 

Nine of the patients from the music festival were hospitalized at Rush University Medical Center, all of whom have been successfully treated and released.

Meanwhile, at the Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, another 18 festival-goers were hospitalized, with only two having to be admitted.

In addition, 85 people were treated by EMS workers, presumabely at the festivial, stated the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

According to hospital officials, overconsumption of alcohol or heat-related illnesses were responsible for the hospitalization of the Lollapalooza attendees. 

One attendee, Brian Gebhardt, from St. Charles, actually stated that he was prepared for the heat at the festival, reported ABC 7. "We got it covered. We got water, we got sunscreen, and now we got some music," Gebhardt said.

Unfortunately, it would seem that not everyone was as prepared for the heat as Gebhardt.

Concert organizers readily encourage people not to bring bags into the event, which could contribute to the fact that most people were not prepared for the heat. 

There are express lanes set for people who do not have bags, even though backpacks and purses are allowed. There are also some items that are prohibited inside the festival, which could help people with the heat.

For instance sunscreen products in aerosol containers are forbidden, as well as coolers and any outside food or beverage.Outside water is allowed, but only two 1-liter factory sealed bottles of water are allowed per person.

Even though two liters of water is eqivalent to eight glasses of water, which is the prescribed amount a person should drink in a day, it would seem that two liters is still insufficient for people during the long hours of the festival.

In terms of alcohol consumption, pediatricians from the Lurie Children's Hospital actually took steps to prevent alcohol-related emergencies in the 2015 Lollapalooza but to no avail.

The hospital recommended that parents strictly observe and check up on their children during Lollapalooza, as a staggering amount of underage teens were sent to the ER last year due to alcohol-related illnesses. 

"There was an enormous increase in teenagers that came to our emergency room, and...the increase in teenagers was entirely accounted for by teenagers that were drunk," explained Dr. Bob Tanz, a pediatirician at Lurie. 

According to Sun Time, every single one of the teenagers sent to the hospital, who attended the 2014 Lollapalooza, had alcohol levels above .08 percent in the blood — the level at which drivers are considered to be driving drunk.