A student from the Utah State University (USU) was hospitalized after partaking in a dangerous new social media challenge.
This is the latest incident in what is known as the Tide Pod challenge, a new social media craze where teenagers are seen filming themselves eating or biting into laundry detergent pods, before spitting it out.
The student in question, whose name was not released, was transported to a local hospital. The condition of the student’s health was not readily available, according to reports.
It’s unclear what exactly motivated the college student to ingest the Tide pod in the first place.
“For students and members of our university who are feeling overwhelmed, we have services available. There are people here to talk to you,” Warren said, according to FOX13.
Tide has also come out to warn people not to partake in the dangerous craze.
Banner Health toxicologist Dr. Frank LoVecchio told ABC15 that the intentional consumption of the packets is concerning. He added that the chemical in the pods can burn your mouth, lips, and esophagus if ingested. But there is also another concern.
“The membrane around it, when it dissolves, can cause central nervous system depression,” LoVecchio told the news station. When it dissolves it can cause you to become sleepy or fatigued.
A representative for Procter and Gamble, maker of Tide, told ABC15 in a statement that the laundry pods are only meant to clean clothes.
“Our laundry pacs are a highly concentrated detergent meant to clean clothes, and they’re used safely in millions of households every day. They should be only used to clean clothes and kept up, closed, and away from children,” the company said in a statement.
