The ‘Cinnamon Challenge’: A Popular Dare That Just Isn’t Worth Taking
4/22/2013 For Release: April 22, 2013
Young people often challenge each other to try various stunts that may not be safe, but one bad idea is getting the attention of millions of teens and young adults thanks to the Internet, and some of them are being injured.
An article in the May 2013 Pediatrics (published online
April 22), “Ingesting and Aspirating Dry Cinnamon by Children and
Adolescents: The ‘Cinnamon Challenge’,”
looks at cases of children and teens who have accepted the dare to swallow a
spoonful of cinnamon.
There were more than 50,000 YouTube videos depicting youth attempting this
activity as of August 2012, and they show the subjects coughing and choking as
the spice triggers a severe gag reflex in response to a caustic sensation in
the mouth and throat. Eating cinnamon in small amounts, mixed with other foods,
does not cause these problems for most people, but larger amounts can be
harmful because of the fibers and other components of the spice. According to
the authors, this stunt has raised concerns in the medical community of
choking, aspiration (drawing foreign substances into the lungs) and lung
damage. Some adolescents have gone to the emergency department after taking the
Cinnamon Challenge, and some have required hospitalization for collapsed lungs.
At least 30 youth in the U.S. have needed medical attention. There also were
178 calls to U.S. poison control centers in 2012 related to this stunt.
While the authors note that the effects are temporary in most cases, there can
be long-lasting lesions, scarring and inflammation of the airway. This activity
may pose greater and unnecessary health risks for people who are allergic to
cinnamon or who have respiratory diseases such as asthma. The authors advise
that the combination of social media, peer pressure and a trendy new fad can be
tough to resist for children and teens, so it is important for pediatricians,
parents and schools to counsel about the risks of choosing to take part in this
activity.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. (www.aap.org)