Parents have been warned to keep an eye on their children and stop them from participating in a new dangerous TikTok challenge that encourages kids to pour salt down their throats.
While there have been plenty of reckless social media challenges in the past (e.g. the Tide Pod challenge), teens appear to keep on coming up with new ideas to gain attention even if it means harming themselves.
In one bizarre video, a TikTok user was seen pouring a handful of salt from a container into his throat before choking on it and spitting it out.
After the dangerous attempt, the kid went on to dare others to try out the ‘salt challenge.’
Soon enough, similar-minded teens, and even some adults, have succumbed to peer pressure and tried to go through with the challenge themselves.
“Salt challenge! This was disgusting,” someone wrote after trying out the stunt.
While it may all seem like an innocent joke to kids, experts have warned that swallowing or attempting to swallow massive amounts of salt can have devastating effects on the body.
“As a doctor, I would strongly recommend that people do not participate in this activity. Eating too much salt is very bad for your health both immediately and in the long run,” Dr Simran Deo said in an interview with the Mirror.
“In the short term, depending on how much you’ve ingested, eating too much salt can be poisonous.”
As the doctor went on to explain, consuming too much salt at once may cause not only thirst and confusion but also nausea and vomiting.
“It can also lead to seizures, a coma or can even be fatal – as the high levels of sodium cause the brain to swell up against the inside of the skull,” he added.
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Replaced!