(Newswire.net — January 29, 2017) — Social networks are flooded with photos of teenagers with terrible burns on their bodies, with blisters and bloody wounds mostly on their hands.
This is due to a bizarre Internet challenge which was created several years ago, but now the craze became popular among young people, who are unaware of its consequences.
The British police warned parents to explain to their children that this challenge can be dangerous, and to tell them that thousands of teenagers ended up in hospital due to the bursting of blisters, and the opening of bloody and painful wounds.
Some have permanently damaged the nerves on their hands.
“Please warn your children and those you know not to take part in this dangerous challenge,”, West Yorkshire Police Chief, Constable Dee Collins, wrote on Twitter.
The spokesman of the UK’s children’s charity, NSPCC, organization who publishes advice and guidance for parents on discussing online safety with their children, said that the rise of social media has contributed to increasing peer pressure amongst children and that this craze is another clear example of the risks posed by such a trend.
The spokesman also said that it’s important for schools to remain vigilant and keep a close eye on all emerging trends.
When salt is mixed with ice, it causes the temperature of the ice to drop to as low as 1.4 Fahrenheit, which leaves tragic consequences on human skin. This chemical reaction has the effect of a frostbite.
Participants then see who can withstand the searing pain longest before sharing photos of the resulting frostbite-resembling burns online, reports “Daily Mail”.
But now, parents of many children and teenagers who participated in this dangerous Internet challenge, also shared the photos which show the damaging consequences of the combined salt and ice on children’s skin, in an effort to warn other parents about this crazy online game.
The challenge was first triggered by young Americans, and then spread to Great Britain and many other countries around the world.