Posted on 04/22/2013 11:55:58 AM PDT by Gamecock
The "cinnamon challenge" -- a party trick among youths who accept a dare to swallow a spoonful of ground cinnamon -- has led to a surge in calls to poison control centers with reports of spice-induced choking and aspiration, according to a new report.
Calls to the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) related to cinnamon increased from 51 in 2011 to 178 calls in the first 6 months of 2012, wrote Steven Lipshultz, MD, of University of Miami's Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine in Florida, and colleagues, online in a Perspective in Pediatrics.
Of the 178 calls, 122 (69%) were classified as intentional misuse or abuse "consistent with the cinnamon challenge," the authors wrote, and about (17%) required medical attention.
The challenge requires a person to swallow a tablespoon of the dry, ground spice in 60 seconds without drinking fluids.
The authors pointed to 51,000 YouTube video clips -- one viewed 19 million times -- as of August 2012 that showed adolescents watching someone coughing and choking as the cinnamon triggers a severe gag reflex. They said the popularity of the Internet coupled with peer pressure instigated too many cinnamon challenges.
According to the Florida Poison Information Center–Miami, there were 26 calls regarding cinnamon exposure between July 2011 and June 2012 and 13 cases, all youths ages 8 to 18, involved the cinnamon challenge. Symptoms included coughing and burning of the mouth, nose, and throat, severe coughing, vomiting, nosebleed, and chest tightness.
"Possible aspiration and pulmonary symptoms were limited to adolescents, all of whom had ingested dry powder from the cinnamon challenge. Although the known health risks of the challenge are relatively low, they are unnecessary and avoidable," the authors wrote.
Finally, they cited one case in Akron, Ohio, where the patient required hospitalization and ventilator support for collapsed lungs.
"Cinnamon is a caustic powder composed of cellulose fibers, which are bioresistant and biopersistent; they neither dissolve nor biodegrade in the lungs," Lipshultz and colleagues explained.
While most of the adverse effects of the challenge have been temporary, inhaling cinnamon can cause pulmonary inflammation and predispose airways to epithelial lesions and scarring, the authors wrote. Aspirated powder in the upper airways can lead to aspiration pneumonia, they added.
For those with cinnamon allergies or with broncho-pulmonary diseases, including asthma, the challenge may be of greater threat, they wrote.
"I think the cinnamon challenge is something that has been around for some time; however, I don't think we've really appreciated what the potential medical implications may be," commented Kent Pinkerton, PhD, director of the University of California Davis Center for Health and the Environment.
Based on the current reports, most patients required little more than dilution, irrigation, and washing the affected area, with no follow-up, the authors said. In some cases that required follow-up, symptoms resolved in 1 to 2.5 hours.
Lipshultz's group said they found no studies of the effects of cinnamon inhalation in humans, but cited results from animal studies.
In one study, mild multifocal granulomatous inflammation was observed 2 to 30 days after cinnamon exposure in rats. Granulomata, interstitial fibrosis, alveolar histiocytosis, alveolar lipoproteinosis, and alveolar cell hyperplasia occurred 3 to 6 months later. Granuloma and thickened interalveolar septa with worsened inflammation and fibrotic lesions were apparent 1 year later.
In a second study, rats receiving single intratracheal doses of 15 mg (7 mm particle size) of cinnamon dust and cellulose dust showed damaged lung elasticity and alveobronchiolitis at days 1 and 7, and fibrotic changes at 1 month.
"Thus, cellulose is not inert and is in fact the component of cinnamon responsible for inducing pulmonary fibrosis," the authors stated.
While Pinkerton pointed out the limitations of results from animal studies, the authors acknowledged that they could not make a "strong statement" on documented pulmonary sequelae in humans. But they stated that it was reasonable to say that the cinnamon challenge has a high likelihood of damaging the lungs.
"Given the allure of social media, peer pressure, and a trendy new fad, pediatricians and parents have a 'challenge' of their own in counseling tweens and teens regarding the sensibilities of the choices they make and the potential health risks of this dare," they concluded.
Or inhaling gas from a whipped cream cannister to make your voice sound funny. Also works well with helium balloons.
Or inhaling gas from a whipped cream cannister to make your voice sound funny. Also works well with helium balloons.
Yeah, my mom thought she was smart. Taking my temp with that ol’ thermometer. No temp, no staying home. I used the lamp to heat the thermometer so it showed I had a fever. Until I got it too hot and the end broke off the thermometer.
That glob of mercury was a blast to play with! Chased it on the hardwood floor for days before I got tired of it and picked it up to throw away in the trash. Maybe somebody else found it and played with it after I did. No EPA back then.
I was transferring a couple hundred gallons of red dye off-road diesel that I had in 275 & 55 gallon poly tanks for four years now, into a single metal tank. Had alot of small pump and siphon problems. I got a good deal on my hands (no gloves) too. Won’t do it again.
I now wheeze almost always, day and night. The wife’s really pissed. It’s been two weeks now that I’ve had no contact with the stuff. Never sought medical attention.
Thanks for any input you might have.
People huff the gas from whipped cream to get high. It’s nitrous oxide, AKA “laughing gas”.
Here’s a challenge:
Eat a McDonalds breakfast biscuit, without drinking anything.
LOL! Umm... You won’t talk funny after doing that. You’ll just think you are funny. That’s Nitrous Oxide (NO2), not Helium. Being of similar density to oxygen (O2), it won’t change your voice. It is, however, laughing gas.
And smeared Mercury on our teeth to make them shiny.
In Europe they used to put radium in toothpaste, apparently to make their teeth glow.
“I think this fad played itself out about 2 years ago.”
I think the new one is sniffing a condom up your nose and pulling it out of your mouth. Somebody posted a video but it had been taken down.
My husband’s friend could put 3 big macs in his mouth at one time. I guess there’s nothing new under the sun. Kids are still stupid and easily swayed by peer pressure.
At one time they also used urine to clean their teeth.
I once contracted asthmatic bronchitis. I’ve never wheezed so much in my entire life. It took quite a few weeks for the symptoms to disappear. I had a breathing treatment and was put on Ventolin inhaler.
I would urge you to go to the Doc, no need to suffer.
Call the poison center.
Good post.
Unfortunately there is no lack of fools or of foolishness. There is the game that some genius youth pastors thought up where kids tried to see how many cotton balls they could stuff in their mouths at once (until someone choked to death), the challenge on a radio station to see how much water one could drink at once (woman died of internal drowning), and the recent internet craze called the salt challenge - holding salt and ice in the hand until the pain is so intense you have to quit. It leads to frostbite and could result in permanent nerve damage to the hands. Oh, and the kids who inhale helium to make their voices sound funny until the helium displaces the oxygen in their blood and the kids die.
Why do people do this stupid stuff?
I have vivid recollections of my grandfather putting a drop of mercury on a dime and seeing how extremely shiny that dime became.
I do not remember ever touching the mercury myself, though.
We had natural gas brought into the house when I was a wee lad. The meter was in the basement close to the furnace and the installer was finishing up the installation which involved putting mercury into the meter casing to act as seal around the rotating gizmo that metered the gas as it passed from inlet to outlet. He kept his mercury in a short length of pipe with a cap screwed on both ends. He had the cap off of one end when he fumbled the container and dropped about a pound of mercury on the dusty basement floor. My two older brothers and I had a great time rounding up little puddles of the stuff and chasing it on to a stiff piece of paper folded over to trap it. I don't think we got even half of it. Didn't seem to have any effect on our health although both parents and my oldest brother died of cancer, while the middle brother and I have both had cancer and survived. I don't think mercury is related to cancer but it seems like an odd coincidence.
Regards,
GtG
Another danger might be a flash fire if there is contact with an open flame. Silo explosions are not rare. I seem to recall my grandmother describing an explosion in a plant making powdered eggs during the war.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.