More details emerged this afternoon of the curious case of the young Sydney man who reportedly became severely ill after a dare to eat a slug.

A man who said he was a relative of the 21-year-old contacted smh.com.au this afternoon to say the young man had been in a north Sydney hospital for almost a month.

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"He was in the ICU unit for a period of time," said the family member, who gave his name but asked not to be identified and who would not identify his sick relative.

"It's a real warning for people not to eat a slug."