Eggnog-chugging contest leads to hospital stay

PROVO, Utah, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A Utah man who chugged a quart of eggnog in 12 seconds to win a restaurant gift card said he was also awarded with a three-day stay in the hospital.

Ryan Roche, whose victory was captured in a video posted to YouTube, said he was challenged to the eggnog-chugging contest at his work Christmas party last week and he had to beat a 22-second record to win a gift card to Ruth's Chris Steak House.

"I just opened up my throat, didn't even swallow," he told KSL-TV. "I pretty much poured it down."

Roche finished off the quart in 12 seconds.

"I got done, and I was gasping, I couldn't breathe," he said.

Roche said his breathing troubles intensified in the ensuing hours and he started feeling shaky and nauseous. He said a friend who is in medical school recommended he go to the hospital, where doctors said he was "dry drowning" from the eggnog in his lungs.

"I can't tell you how many doctors or nurses would walk into my room and say, 'Eggnog, huh?' Then they'd say, 'Well, at least you won,'" he told the New York Daily News.

Roche said he spent his first 24 hours in the hospital in intensive care.

"It was rough," he said.

He said he took home the steakhouse gift card, but it also came with a valuable lesson.

"Eggnog: not ideal for the lungs," Roche said. "Not only do I get a Ruth's Chris gift card, but I got a three night's stay in the hospital."