Teenagers are adopting TikToc channels that are downright dangerous. Remember when swallowing laundry detergent pods was a thing? Young teens died from the poison. Then there was the ‘Benadryl challenge’ where youngsters overdosed on the allergy medicine and yes, died.
The latest scary challenge doing the rounds in ‘Sleepy Chicken’… cooking chicken in NyQuil.
While that sounds dangerous and disgusting to most of us, teenagers’ brains aren’t fully developed yet — they don’t consider the consequences of their actions — so are susceptible to these social media dares.
Tide pods challenge.
“One social media trend relying on peer pressure is online video clips of people misusing nonprescription medications and encouraging viewers to do so too. These video challenges, which often target youths, can harm people — and even cause death,” warned the FDA.
In the case of the NyQuil chicken, experts say “Boiling a medication can make it much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways.”
Even if you don’t eat the chicken, inhaling the medication’s vapors while cooking could cause high levels of the drugs to enter your body. It could also hurt your lungs.”
Since teens don’t have a fully-developed prefrontal cortex, which manages rational thought, problem-solving and consequences, they act on impulse. Parents be warned.