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It's the latest fad and was developed in the United Kingdom, but the "Ice and Salt Challenge" is causing second-degree burns in kids across the globe. Second-degree burns are more severe than first-degree which are "mild". Second-degree wounds are those that burn through the outer layer of skin into the lower layer. They cause pain, redness, swelling and blistering and scarring.
It's a pain competition. Kids rub salt on their skin and apply ice. The salt intensifies the cold by dropping it to as low as 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit which is comparable to frostbite. Kids have been hospitalized. Nerve damage can result. Until the numbness and redness subside, they don't appreciate the effects and oftentimes, the damage is done before they get medical attention.The "rewards" they get by posting pictures of their burns online are very powerful.
The "ice and salt challenge" is not one of the lethal social challenges, but the Chubby Bunny resulted in at least two deaths and has been used as a hazing ritual in the college setting.
Kids stuff as many marshmallows in their mouths as they can. The more marshmallows they pile in, the farther back in the throat they become lodged and even paramedics can't clear their airway. They suffocate.
The Cinnamon Challenge can also be fatal and certainly can cause life-altering injury. The challenge involves kids filming themselves eating a spoonful of ground cinnamon in 60 seconds without drinking anything. Because the powdered cinnamon coats the mouth and throat, resulting in a severe sensation of dryness, the kid starts coughing, gagging, choking, and vomiting, oftentimes inhaling the cinnamon into the lungs leading to pneumonia or a collapsed lung.
Tampon Vodka Drunk. Not three words that you usually think "go together". Kids soak tampons in vodka and girls insert them in their vaginas and boys, in their rectum. Each tampon holds about a shot of vodka. It's especially dangerous because the vodka enters the bloodstream immediately without the minimizing effects of the digestive process. The vagina and rectum are intensely vascularized meaning that there's a lot of blood vessels in the areas. It's difficult to determine how much you've had and how drunk you'll get. Alcohol poisoning and liver failure is a serious risk. Mucosal membranes (the tissue in the vagina and rectum) are severely irritated in most cases.
Kids think that they'll pass a breathalyzer test because they have no alcohol on their breath. They're wrong because a breathalyzer evaluates the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. Medical treatment may be compromised because who would ever consider there's a vodka-soaked tampon causing the drunkenness?
Kids think that they'll pass a breathalyzer test because they have no alcohol on their breath. They're wrong because a breathalyzer evaluates the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. Medical treatment may be compromised because who would ever consider there's a vodka-soaked tampon causing the drunkenness?
Vodka is also the culprit in "Vodka Eyeballing". Yes, "eyeballing". Just as the picture depicts, vodka is poured into the eye socket and is readily absorbed through the blood supply in the eye, especially at the back of the eye. Kids get drunker faster. Of course, there's that whole nasty cornea melting thing...oh so attractive.
Vodka Gummy Bears. Yep, kids soak gummy bears in vodka and can just pop them in their mouths as they walk down the hallways of school or while they're doing homework sitting on their beds. What parent or teacher would know the difference? Again, they get very drunk very fast.
This girl is engaging in one version of the Condom Challenge. Kids suck the condom through their noses and pull it out through their mouths. Clearly, a serious choking potential. The second version is where a condom is filled with water and dropped on a person's head enveloping the person's face in the condom where suffocation is the risk.
Kids have amazing imaginations. They've come up with the idea of grinding up Smarties and snorting them, rubbing an eraser on their skin to create burns, choking one another into unconsciousness which is a particularly fatal "game" , car surfing and the "fire challenge".
The "fire challenge" involves spraying flammable liquids on your body and setting them on fire while you're being filmed. Enough said about the dangers here. Maybe you don't know about "car surfing". Yet again, two more words that don't seem to make sense together. This is what is looks like:
There are still a few deaths occurring every year from this "activity", but when it first started happening, even adults were getting killed doing this and the death toll, overall, was significant.. "But it just looks like sooo much fun!"
It's important that you don't make assumptions about "what" you think your kids will and will not do. Scan news sites regularly to see what the latest "fatal fad" might be and sit down with your kids and talk about it. Yes, your little darling might actually by sucking a condom up her nose just because she's been convinced it'll be a "really cool YouTube video". Uh huh, yeah.
As always, just do the best you can. Claudia
As always, just do the best you can. Claudia
