Millions of kids
jump on TikTok I'm proud to say we saw the popularity
of TikTok coming, and were quick to publish reviews and
advice to help parents make an informed decision about
whether it was right for their child and, if so, how to
navigate this new platform safely with them. Taking the
guesswork out of these decisions for parents is definitely
the most rewarding part of my job. More often than not,
parents are looking to get to a place of yes, and we want to
encourage an experience they can feel good about.
More May
- Tick season is in full-swing Tide Pod
Challenge: Teens are putting detergent pods in their mouth
and posting videos online As part of a dangerous new online challenge, teens are putting laundry pods in their mouth. It all started as jokes. The lure of Tide Pods, which look almost like candy, broke into satirical conversations as early as 2015 when The Onion published column from the perspective of a child who wanted to eat a blue and red detergent pod. This followed numerous reports pods were getting into the hands of curious toddlers, which can cause serious harm. In 2017, poison control centers received reports of more than 10,500 exposures to highly concentrated packed of laundry detergent by children 5 and younger, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. A March 2017 video likely generated the biggest conversation about students eating pods. In College Humor’s Don’t Eat The Laundry Pods video, viewers see a college student tempted to eat Tide Pods. After researching how toxic the pods are, he still ends up gorging on a bowl full of pods. The video ends with the student saying he doesn’t regret it on an emergency backboard. Ideas, and even dares about eating the pods followed on Reddit and Twitter. Now, videos of teens putting Tide Pods in their mouth and even cooking with them are making the rounds online as part of the "Tide Pod Challenge." It's alarming. Many know the pods pose serious health risk for children and nonprofit Consumer Reports has also pointed out lethal risks for adults with dementia. Healthy teens or adults who eat or even bite into the pods could also experience symptoms. Dr. Alfred Aleguas Jr., managing director of the Florida Poison Information Center in Tampa, said if someone mimicked the College Humor video, they could find themselves in a "life-threatening" situation. Swallowing even a small amount of the highly-concentrated detergent found in pods (which can happen if people bite it and spit contents out), can cause diarrhea and vomiting. In some cases, some of the detergent could even find its way into the lungs and cause breathing difficulties. While some teens might not have extreme symptoms, the health risk won't be apparent until it happens. Aleguas said he's seen situations where people who don't know they have underlying medical conditions try a stunt like this and must be rushed to a hospital. "Ending up in the emergency room is no joke," he said. Tide has a page on its website dedicated to safe handling of its products, advising consumers to drink a glass of water or milk if a product is swallowed and call for help. If you or someone you know has eaten a laundry detergent pod, call the national poison help hotline at 1-800-222-1222 or text POISON to 797979 to save the number in your phone. “Our laundry pacs are a highly
concentrated detergent meant to clean clothes … They
should not be played with, whatever the circumstance is,
even if meant as a joke,” Tide said in a statement. 'Cinnamon
Challenge' fad could result in lung damage The 'cinnamon challenge' dare results in choking, gagging, and a burning sensation Animal studies suggest other, long-term health consequences are possible Consumed in standard amounts to flavor food, cinnamon is not a problem for most people A decades-old stunt in which thrill-seeking teens swallow a tablespoon of dry cinnamon with no water, gag and spew out a cloud of orange dust went viral in 2012, resulting in more than 50,000 YouTube video clips of young people attempting the so-called "cinnamon challenge." Although the immediate physical effects -- coughing, choking and burning of the mouth, nose, and throat -- are temporary in most cases, attempts to swallow a large quantity of the dry spice may result in "long-lasting lesions, scarring and inflammation of the airway" or even lung damage, says a new research paper examining the dare. Nationwide, at least 30 cases last year stemming from the challenge required medical attention, in 2012, including ventilator support for some teens who suffered collapsed lungs, says the paper, in the April issue of Pediatrics, published online today. The American Association of Poison Control Centers, which issued an a March 2012 alert about the dare, reported 222 cinnamon-related exposures in 2012, up from 51 in 2011. So far this year, 20 exposures were reported from between Jan. 1 and Mar. 31. For teens and young adults with underlying lung diseases such as asthma, ingesting large quantities of dry cinnamon has the potential to pose significant and unnecessary health risks, says study author Steven Lipshultz, professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "It could really put them in a bad way," he says. Although there are no human studies of cinnamon inhalation, in animal studies the lungs almost immediately become inflamed after a single exposure and still show signs of damage weeks, even months later, says Lipshultz. "In humans, that would be the equivalent of an elderly person developing emphysema and needing oxygen." The report notes that cinnamon is a caustic powder composed of cellulose fibers that don't dissolve or biodegrade in the lungs. It also contains an oil that produces allergic, irritant or toxic reactions in some people. Consumed in small amounts or mixed with other foods, cinnamon does not cause problems for most people, says Lipshultz. Although the "cinnamon challenge" is
not the rage it was a year ago, new videos posted online
suggest its allure "hasn't died off," he says, adding that
the University of Miami research team is aware of other
potentially dangerous online dares, including the "condom
challenge," in which participants snort a condom up their
nose and pull it out of their mouth. Claire's
Markets Flasks to Tween Girls Girl
Gives Justin Timberlake a Suck-Job for Pepsi Wal
Mart Continues to Encourage "No
Boundaries®"
in Junior Intimates CPSC: Take Aqua
Dots Off Shelves Meth Ado About
Nothing? Flavored Meth and Cheese Heroin Stories Smack of
Fearmongering The 'condom
snorting challenge' is every parent's worst nightmare Viral videos posted on social media show teenagers snorting condoms as part of a so-called "condom snorting challenge." In the videos, teens put an unwrapped condom up one of their nostrils and inhale until the condom comes out of their mouth. Like other viral challenges, the condom snorting challenge has been around for years but recently reemerged on social media. In San Antonio, Stephen Enriquez, who teaches drug and alcohol prevention to parents, has also started to teach parents about dangerous online trends like the condom snorting challenge, KABB-TV reported. "Because these days our teens are doing everything for likes, views, and subscribers," Enriquez told the station. "As graphic as it is, we have to show parents because teens are going online looking for challenges and recreating them." More: Tide Pods: Despite 'The Challenge,' P&G doubles down on detergent pouches And this isn't the first time that teens have done questionable things in the pursuit of Internet fame. In 2012, more than 50,000 YouTube video clips showed young people swallow a tablespoon of dry cinnamon with no water, gag and spew out a cloud of orange dust as part of the "cinnamon challenge." Likewise, just before the New Year, a spate of teenage poisonings were reported in the U.S. as a result of an Internet-based dare encouraging youths to post video of themselves biting or eating Tide Pods. The stunt, dubbed "The Tide Pod Challenge," has resulted in poison centers reporting 142 incidents in January. While teens may think the condom snorting challenge goes without consequences, it can be dangerous, Bruce Y. Lee, a Forbes contributor and associate professor of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a recent column. Lee writes that with the exception of doctor-prescribed nasal sprays, "anything else that goes up your nose can damage the sensitive inner lining of your nose, cause an allergic reaction, or result in an infection." He notes that the condom could also
get stuck in the nasal cavity or the throat and cause
someone to choke.
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