After a teen’s death from the spicy “One Chip Challenge,” people are worried — A doctor joins in on how dangerous social media dares can be.
The death of a teen from Massachusetts after he or she ate a single hot tortilla chip for a social media challenge is scary.
The 14-year-old’s mother told the New York Times that one of the last things her son ate was a Paqui brand chip from a coffin-shaped container that said “One Chip Challenge” and “Inside: One Extremely Hot Chip.” The cause of the boy’s death was not immediately clear.
In fact, #OneChipChallenge was promoted on the website for Paqui. But the company has taken the product off the market while police look into what happened to the boy. A message on Paqui’s website starts in a new tab or window.
It says that the chips have “clear and prominent labelling” that says they are not for children and are only for adults, but that “more teens and other people are ignoring these warnings.”
“Because of this, even though the product still meets food safety standards, we are actively working with our retailers to take it off the shelves,” the company wrote.
Scott Krakower, DO, is a child and teen therapist at Northwell Health in Glen Oaks, New York. MedPage Today talked to him about how dangerous extreme tasks that are going around on social media can be.
“We see these kinds of things a lot,” Krakower told MedPage Today. “Something will happen, and word will get around quickly.”
He said it’s “awful” to hear things like this.
Krakower says it’s not surprising that young people have found and taken part in the “One Chip Challenge” on social media.
He pointed out that social media material is often based on what people have done in the past. So, if a child or teen has seen one extreme challenge online, it’s possible that they will see more.
Krakower also pointed out that young people’s prefrontal lobe is still growing, which makes them more likely to act on instinct. So, he said, if a social media task looks “sensational” and “fun,” kids and teens may jump on it right away.
“You don’t always think a chip can be dangerous,” Krakower said, but a very hot food can hurt someone’s gut system or even make them choke.
Capsaicin is what makes chili peppers burn and bother, and a post from the Cleveland Clinic earlier this year about the possible risks of spicy foods said that “your body may see capsaicin as a toxin and try to get rid of it.” There may be gut pain, diarrhea that burns, chest pain, headaches, and violent vomiting. People can get hurt or hurt so badly that they need medical care.
Paqui’s website says that the chip used in the “One Chip Challenge” has Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper peppers on it, and a warning sign on the website says:
• Don’t let kids get to it.
• Is meant for adults to drink.
• Don’t eat if you can’t handle hot foods, if you’re allergic to peppers, night lights, or capsaicin, if you’re pregnant, or if you have any other health problems.
• Wash your hands with soap after touching the chip, and don’t touch your eyes or other sensitive places.
• Get medical help if you have trouble breathing, pass out, or feel sick for a long time.
Reports show, though, that young people have been taking part in the dare anyway.
“I see kids who want to be TikTok stars,” Krakower said. “They want to be famous and popular, and they want to get followers and likes.”
As a child and teen therapist, he often talks to people about their worries about being addicted to social media. Krakower, on the other hand, said that “a lot of kids will also tell you that they think it’s been really good for them.” For example, they might talk about groups of friends they would have never met without social media.
“It’s a balance,” he said. “We want to stay socially connected with people through the internet, but we also want to make sure that kids take breaks from social media and remain socially connected at school.”
Krakower is still worried about the “One Chip Challenge” and other games like it.
All of the causes can add up to problems that could be life-threatening, he said, and the “ante keeps going up and up, and there’s no way to stop.”
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