'Hot Water Challenge' sending handful of US teens to hospitals

In early July, Kyland Clark from Indianapolis was admitted to the hospital after a friend dumped boiling water on him as part of an internet challenge; yet Kyland is not the first hospitalization due to the "Hot Water Challenge" currently circulating YouTube and other social media platforms, according to Time.

The 15-year-old and a friend looked up the "Hot Water Challenge" on YouTube. Later, his friend poured boiling water on Kyland while he was sleeping. Kyland ended up in the hospital with second-degree burns on his face, back and chest, according to Fox 59 News.

"My skin just fell off my chest," Kyland told Fox 59. "And then I went and looked in the mirror and I had skin falling off right here and on my face."

But Kyland is not the first hospitalization due to the "Hot Water Challenge." Since the original video was posted in August 2017 — which features a man pouring boiling water over himself and then screaming for someone to spray him off with a hose — kids all over the country have been sent to the hospital for either drinking boiling water through a straw or pouring it onto sleeping people.

The "Hot Water Challenge" has been linked to the death of 8-year-old Ki'ari Pope from Boynton Beach, Fla., who was dared by her cousin to drink boiling water through a straw, resulting in the girl having a tracheotomy on Sept. 10. She suffered from breathing complications due to the tracheotomy, which left her unable to breathe and resulted in her death, according to People.

Ed Bartkus, MD, with Indianapolis based-Indiana University Health, told Fox 59 the challenge suggests to "people that they can try it and they won't be hurt, but they will be, I can guarantee it. If your friends are telling you to do this, they aren't good friends."

Dr. Bartkus also pointed out that people can sustain permanent disfigurement from burns resulting from scalding water, along with death.

More articles on clinical leadership and infection control: 

Detroit Medical Center coordinates multistate effort to find antivenom for patient bit by cobra 
3 things US can learn from world's organ donation leader: Spain
Joint Commission will require hospitals to report percentage of newborns with unexpected complications

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars