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Viral ‘deodorant challenge’ leaves 15-year-old with second-degree burns
The latest, and rather dangerous, trend to hit millennials is the “deodorant challenge” which involves a person spraying deodorant on their or someone else’s skin for as long as possible to test endurance.
How far would you go for Instagram likes and subscribers?
Last year, trends like squiggle brows, the tide pod and condom-snorting challenges gripped the internet. And in 2014, it was the aerosol challenge.
The latest, and rather dangerous, trend to hit millennials is the “deodorant challenge” which involves a person spraying deodorant on their or someone else’s skin for as long as possible to test endurance.
Jamie Prescott from Britain was furious after her 15-year-old daughter’s arm was mangled with a second-degree burn. Prescott said Ellie met her classmates at a park when they asked her to hold out her arm, according to a Somerset Live report.
She wrote a post on Facebook accompanied by graphic pictures to warn other parents. She also wrote that the challenge was currently doing the rounds in Yate, a small city outside Bristol.
“The wound is already 3 weeks old and may end up requiring a skin graft to heal properly ... She had no idea of the consequences and hadn’t even heard of The Deodorant Challenge before that point,” she wrote.
Ellie told foxnews.com that there’s a hole in her arm and “there’s all this yellow stuff coming out”.
“My friend did it a year ago and has a scar, but said it wasn’t as painful as mine. When I show people my injury they lift up their sleeves and show that they’ve all had it done too,” she said.
Prescott changed Ellie’s school but says students there are also trying the “challenge”. She has also had medical procedures once a week since the incident took place.
Dermatologist Jeanine B Downie, MD, told New Beauty that children are giving themselves first-to-second-degree burns by doing this ‘deodorant challenge’.
“These burns can harm their skin and cause dark spots, scars, and patches that may last for the rest of their lives. It also increases the risk of skin cancer,” Downie said.
Prescott’s post has been shared nearly 5,000 times.
The deodorant challenge is reminiscent of the aerosol challenge that gripped the internet in 2014. Other parents have also posted warnings. UK’s Sara Stanley shared photos of her daughter Kaitlyn’s arm after trying the challenge in 2017.
