Social media health challenges put children and teenagers at risk, doctors warn

Dubai: Doctors have warned of 10 dangerous health challenges and trends circulating on social media, some of which have evolved from videos designed to attract views and likes into practices that can threaten the lives of children, teenagers and young people. They warned against imitating such behaviours without understanding the health consequences, stressing that a medication overdose or a challenge involving breath-holding can turn a seconds-long video into a medical emergency, potentially causing permanent complications or death. The trends include the “Benny Tripping Challenge”, which involves taking excessive doses of Benadryl to induce hallucinations and filming the effects; overdosing on paracetamol; mixing medications for a faster or stronger effect; and stopping prescribed treatments after following advice circulated online. Other practices include breath-holding and deliberately losing consciousness on camera to attract followers; the use of electronic smoking devices and modern nicotine products; and promoting slimming drugs and injections as quick weight-loss solutions without medical assessment or checks on product safety. The list also includes stimulants and herbs with unknown ingredients; skincare and beauty experiments involving mixed chemicals, unsuitable products or home procedures; and excessive use of sports supplements and muscle-building hormones without medical supervision. Other trends involve excessive consumption of energy drinks and caffeine, sometimes mixed with other ingredients; experimenting with products intended to boost activity and concentration; and sleep and physical-endurance challenges, including deliberate sleep deprivation, promoted as ways to improve health and fitness. Doctors said the danger was not limited to new challenges. Some have existed for years but resurface on social media in different forms, with rapid sharing and reposting increasing the likelihood of imitation, particularly among children and teenagers. Curiosity, experimentation, the desire for social acceptance and friends’ approval, and the pursuit of fame and views are among the main reasons teenagers may participate. Peer influence can further increase the risk while their ability to assess consequences and make decisions is still developing. Doctors urged families to build relationships based on trust and dialogue and avoid punishment and reprimands that could encourage children to conceal dangerous behaviour. They said protecting teenagers is a shared responsibility involving families, schools, health institutions and digital platforms. They also stressed the importance of teaching young people to distinguish reliable information from misleading content. Specialist psychological assessment may be needed when dangerous behaviour is repeated, significant psychological or emotional changes appear, medications are misused, self-harming behaviour emerges or a teenager’s daily life is affected. Emergency departments Dr Mahmoud Medhat Abu Moussa Dr Mahmoud Medhat Abu Moussa, an intensive care medicine specialist, warned that social media challenges encouraging teenagers to take excessive doses of medication for views or to impress friends can cause severe, life-threatening poisoning, even when no symptoms are initially apparent. “From the reality of working in the emergency and intensive care departments, the importance of raising awareness about the dangers of these practices is evident, as some patients may arrive at the hospital suffering from severe complications that require urgent medical intervention, even though the beginning of the problem was just an experiment motivated by curiosity or imitating popular content on the internet,” he said. Common medicines found at home, including painkillers, allergy and sleep medications and some psychiatric drugs, can cause heart rhythm disturbances, convulsions, loss of consciousness, respiratory failure and liver or kidney damage when taken in excessive doses. Severe cases can be fatal. Dr Abu Moussa stressed that the absence of early symptoms does not mean a teenager is out of danger because some drugs can cause internal damage before clear clinical signs emerge. A paracetamol overdose, for example, can cause severe liver damage even when the person appears relatively normal during the first few hours. Severe poisoning may require intensive care, particularly when consciousness, breathing or blood circulation is affected. Patients may need artificial respiration, blood pressure support medication, specialist poisoning treatments or, in some cases, kidney dialysis, depending on the drug involved and resulting complications. Recovery depends on factors including the type and amount of drug taken, the time before treatment begins, the patient’s health and the extent of organ damage. Early medical intervention can be crucial to survival and reducing the risk of permanent complications. Dr Abu Moussa warned parents against inducing vomiting or giving milk