Online videos showing people swallowing large amounts of salt in “The Salt Challenge” is the latest dangerous social media trend, the Judiciary Police (PJ) said in a statement yesterday, urging the public, especially youngsters, not to mimic the prank.
According to the PJ statement, the Judiciary Police were informed by the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) recently that following the dangerous “Tripping Jump Challenge” and “Scarf Tripping” pranks trending on social media last month, the latest prank is “The Salt Challenge”.
The statement said that “The Salt Challenge” requires participants to pour a large quantity of salt into their mouths. The statement quoted doctors as saying that a sudden rise in sodium levels in the body could lead to dehydration, disorientation, nausea, vomiting, and even unconsciousness.
The PJ statement reminded youngsters to pay attention to safety when playing games.
“Do not try dangerous challenge games in order to seek temporary thrills as these actions may endanger personal safety and cause tragedy,” the statement said, urging schools to strengthen pupils’ awareness of safety and prevent young people from playing dangerous games that threaten their personal safety.
The statement added that schools should inform parents about the proliferation of dangerous pranks on social media platforms and increase vigilance.
Meanwhile, Dr. Simran Deo from UK-based online healthcare company Zava, told the Daily Mirror she “strongly” advises people against participating in this challenge. Deo said, “Eating too much salt is very bad for your health both immediately and in the long-run.”
For short-term effects, a sudden spike in sodium levels can lead to dehydration, confusion, nausea and vomiting. For higher levels of sodium and extreme cases, people can suffer from seizures or enter a comatose state.
This undated online combination of photos released by the Judiciary Police (PJ) on their Facebook page yesterday shows the potentially fatal risks involved in playing “The Salt Challenge” prank. The police did not say where and when the photos were taken.
