10 children were rushed to a hospital in Massachusetts after replicating an online TikTok challenge whilst in school.
The “Trouble Bubble” Challenge
Adults and children love to follow online trends in order to provide a form of entertainment to their audience as well as comedy. One challenge, however, caused a bad reaction, leaving a class of children in the hospital and needing treatment for their misconduct.
The “Trouble Bubble” challenge which was seen by one of the children/students is a challenge on TikTok where an individual would try to blow bubble gum that contains oleoresin capsicum – the same ingredient used in police pepper spray. To put it into further perspective, the gum chewed by the students is the equivalent of the pure capsaicin pepper which is one of the hottest peppers in the world with 16 million Scoville units of heat.
Popularised on TikTok
The trend was first popularised on TikTok in 2021 and since has crept its way across the TikTok platform and is seen by millions of adults and children across the world. It is no wonder why many want to try the challenge without understanding the severity of what they are taking or researching properly beforehand.
@feketemiklospower LegerÅ‘sebb rágó 🔥16.000.000 SHU🔥🔥🔥 #chili #challenge #strongman #spicy #troublebubble ♬ Epic Music(838874) – Pavel
What happened to the Children?
The reaction caused by teachers at the Dexter Park School has prompted parents to take caution about what their children are consuming online.
Orange Fire Chief James Young Jr. said “It can cause skin irritation, as well as respiratory and airway inflammation.” Amelia Dynice, a mother of one of the children involved expressed her shock to find the gum available on Amazon and said “That’s scary – shouldn’t be able to buy that on Amazon.”
Young also said “Kids are curious and they are going to investigate things like this, but not to bring things like this to school. He continued, “Don’t share products amongst each other, and if you see something, say something to the adults that are in charge of the school, so they can prevent something like this from happening.”
Disciplinary action will be taken against the children after a full investigation has been completed on the incident.
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