A weird and rather dangerous social media challenge is making a comeback on the internet and children are landing up in the hospital because of it.
Haven’t heard of it? It’s called the “salt and ice challenge”
The trend has made its rounds more than once over the past few years but is once again gaining popularity among kids and teens.Many of these kids are ending up with chemical burns.
The challenge calls for kids to put salt and ice together on their skin. The effect on the skin can be similar to frostbite as salt lowers the temperature of ice to as low as – 17 degrees Celsius or 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Kids often don’t realize that they are giving themselves potentially second-degree burns because of the redness and numbness from the ice.
Salt and ice challenge #saltandicechallenge
A photo posted by Devin Rodgers (@narutoofficial2) on
Kids are posting photos of their burns to social media as proof of their endurance- as a part of the “game” is to see who can stand the pain the longest.
In the United Kingdom, the National Society For the Prevention of Cruelty to Children issued a warning to parents about the latest craze.
“It is important for schools keep a close eye on all emerging trends and we welcome the warning to parents,” An NSPCC spokesperson told the Huffington Post UK.
“The rise of social media has contributed to increasing peer pressure among children. This ‘craze’ [salt and ice challenge] is another clear example of the risks.
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