Social media has its upsides, but one of its major downfalls is perpetuating “trends” that can seriously harm public health and safety.
You may remember the “tide pod challenge” from early 2018, where kids on the internet were daring each other to ingest the detergent capsules. Or, more recently, the “coronavirus challenge,” which encouraged people to lick surfaces in public amidst the pandemic.
Well, now, a new challenge has emerged– and it’s called “sleepy chicken.”
The trend began on TikTok when numerous creators started sauteing chicken with Nyquil. Then, these videos went ultra-viral and spurred the #sleepychicken.
As of Tuesday, the hashtag had amassed over 1.3 million videos on TikTok alone. This prompted the FDA to issue a stringent warning against using the over-the-counter drug in meals.
“The challenge sounds silly and unappetizing– and it is. But it could also be very unsafe,” the statement began.
“Boiling a medication can make it much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways. Even if you don’t eat the chicken, inhaling the medication’s vapors while cooking could cause high levels of drugs to enter your body. It could also hurt your lungs.”
In other words, even simply being around heated Nyquil could cause a dangerously large amount of the cough medicine to enter your system– and people will not even realize until it is too late.
The FDA also provided suggestions for parents looking to keep their kids safe from the “sleepy chicken” chaos.
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First, parents can lock away both over-the-counter and prescription drugs to prevent the possibility of an accidental overdose.
Next, the administration advised parents to sit down and discuss how social media trends can cause real and even irreversible consequences.
TikTok has since banned search terms such as “sleepy chicken” and “chicken and Nyquil” from use. Instead, social media users searching for the terms are now greeted with a resource page that encourages them to stop, think, decide, and take action against harmful trends.
However, the same cannot be said about Instagram and Twitter. On those platforms, the hashtag– and accompanying videos of people dousing their chicken in Nyquil– are still being circulated.
So, if you see an inappropriate post spreading harmful or misinformation about the trend, it is best to report it.
To view the FDA’s complete statement and resource guide, visit the link here.
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