Surely most of you know what Cinnamon Challenge is called ('the cinnamon challenge'), a few days ago we were shown on television some of the videos of teenagers (on the Internet there are many more) eating tablespoons of cinnamon and then coughing and choking while looking for water to calm down.
If there is something I do not like is to see people endangering their health and physical integrity, exhibiting that kind of behavior seems embarrassing to me, whether one is aware that they record it or not. I know that adolescence is linked to risk for several reasons, but I believe that everything must have its limits, and that children at these ages must also learn to think for themselves, in order to make decisions without being influenced by others. And it is very good to use cinnamon to sprinkle custard or enhance the taste of a cake, but 'Attempts to swallow large amounts of dried cinnamon lead to a real risk of aspiration'. A game with many possibilities of causing lung problems does not seem very funny right?Of course it is not pleasant to see 13-year-old children vomiting in a corner after having abused alcohol. Pediatrics has published an article dedicated to this topic, experts remember that schools, pediatricians and parents can help children assess and anticipate the risks of giving in to group pressure (when it is aimed at favoring foolish behaviors) .
In the pediatric outreach blog 'My kingdom for a horse', it is warned that After ingestion of cinnamon there is a risk of suffocation, aspiration and lung damage (In fact I read in the news the case of a girl who needs assisted breathing after the experience). The challenge is to accept putting a spoonful in your mouth holding 60 seconds without water, obviously many do not hold so long, but the damage is done.
Cinnamon is a caustic substance in the lungs and these cannot degrade it. There are studies in rats that are given cinnamon in the trachea that have serious lung complications, such as granulomas and pulmonary fibrosis. This can be especially serious in children and adolescents with asthma or bronchial hyperreactivity.
I think it's important for children to know that cinnamon can cause pulmonary inflammation and predisposes to respiratory tract injuries, severe cases of aspiration pneumonia have occurred, and children who must have been hospitalized after the 'mischief' (It catches my attention that in the videos the friends - inducers - always laugh out loud at the reaction, I don't know if they will be aware, and also if in the worst outcomes the continuity of such risky behaviors is rethought).
Common symptoms include cough and burning in the mouth, nose and throat. The most severe symptoms include extensive cough, vomiting, nosebleeds, and chest tightness.
In the first 6 months of 2012 the American toxicology agency received 178 consultations for symptoms related to the cinnamon test, and of these, 30 were advised for medical treatment. This coincided with the maximum dissemination of these videos.
This is very serious, it is urgent that parents include in our conversations with our children the need for it is common sense that guides their actions, real friends are characterized by not forcing us to do something we do not want, and YouTube is not always a good reference, do not you think?
