Latest Dangerous Fad for Kids--The Cinnamon Challenge

Children and teenagers often have games or contests among themselves that instantly earn a person the title of "Cool Kid" if they can complete the task. Parents typically see such things as harmless, stuff that all kids do, but there is cause to be concerned when these challenges end in serious health ramifications and calls to Poison Control. Meet the "Cinnamon Challenge".

Following on the heels of the "Eraser Challenge" and the "Salt and Ice Challenge", both of which involve participants doing bodily harm to themselves, the "Cinnamon Challenge" poses a new problem.

In this latest game, the object is simple: swallow one tablespoon of ground or powdered cinnamon. The rules? No water allowed. This seems benign but videos on the Internet, such as the one above, clearly show that a seemingly harmless game can quickly become a serious situation.

Cinnamon dries out the mouth and coats the throat of the participant, making it difficult to breathe and often resulting in vomiting and coughing which injure the throat and lungs of the person. This challenge carries with it the risk of pneumonia for those who breathe in the cinnamon and is particularly dangerous for children with asthma because the spice coating their throat can lead to shortness of breath and spark a serious asthma attack.

This challenge is not some remote problem, either. This year alone, the Poison Control Center has received at least 122 calls involving the abuse of cinnamon through the "Cinnamon Challenge,"some of which required medical evaluation.

Kids participating in the challenge are not thinking about the potentially dangerous results of such a game and neither, it seems, are some parents. There are many videos on YouTube with teenagers doing the "Cinnamon Challenge" while their parents hold the cameras for them.

Dr. Alvin Bronstein, the medical director for the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, released a statement with the following exhortation: "We urge parents and caregivers to talk to their teens about the cinnamon challenge, explaining that what may seem like a silly game can have serious health consequences."

To protect children, we must first know the threat ourselves. The "Cinnamon Challenge" should be nipped in the bud before it becomes more dangerous than it already is. This competition is not innocent child's play--it is potentially dangerous and should be taken seriously by all parents.

If you are interested in reading more articles by Taylor Wilkerson, try reading her blog.

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