Cinnamon challenge dangerous

Specialties Emergency

Published

A patient presented to triage in severe respiratory distress after aspirating cinnamon while doing the cinnamon challenge. Her O2 sat was in the 50's. She was immediately intubated but prognosis very grim. please pass the word that this fad is dangerous and can be fatal.

It appears to be one of those eat it and don't throw it back up, sorts of things. Apparently you lose if you can't keep it down.

I don't get it!!! Is that supposed to be funny?!
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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

It's even been on AFV (America's funniest Videos), TWICE. Cinnamon is a very fine powder and people think because it smells good it will taste good. Cinnamon is very spicy when concentrated and once they start coughing they inhale the fine powder, cough more, inhale more which makes them cough more....... which blocks the capillary beds in the lungs and the blood fails to be oxygenated. The essentially suffocate. I've seen ECMO used as a stop gap measure but the damage done is essentially not repairable....depending how much they inhaled.

Like most silly fads.....they are dangerous and the young think they are invincible.:banghead:

The Cinnamon Challenge! @Tanmansyx watch this! #AFV - Sam Sumners - Twitvid

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Specializes in LTC, Acute care.

This cinnamon thing is just stupid. Who the heck comes up with these dumb ideas? How can people just throw their lives away like that? And for what? Likes on Facebook? Sooooo incredibly stupid!

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Specializes in Adult/Ped Emergency and Trauma.

Reminded me of the "Cool Hand Luke" Egg Challenge, I guess that died out before I was born. Paul Newman is to blame for this food challenge crap!!!! (eggs are one of those hate/love foods for Medicine too) good for you, then bad for you, then good for protien, bad for cholesterol!!!!!

Yesterday it was MSG, Now Cinnamon? What will be next? . . . Salt? (Joke):jester:

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Paul Newman should have seen this Cinnamon thing coming, and we would be discussing glue sniffing, and teen smoking/underage drinking now. But no, he had to do the egg thing, and now like a domino effect it has lead to Cinnamon Abuse!

Why Paul? Why? and you were soooooo Fine!

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Ah to be young and dumb again. I cant tell you how many times I tried the milk challenge, or the ghost pepper challenge, or etc etc.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

What was that one? Whistling with a mouthful of Saltines? Oh, how harmless back in the day.

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Holy ARDS Batman. If only teens realized the consequences of stupid stuff like that.

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Really!! What is wrong with people! Although I swear nothing should suprise me anymore...I had a 67yo lady come in with an LSD type high, cardiac arrythmias, hallucinations, the whole bit. Her tox screen was negative. Come to find out later that she was smoking bath salts cuz she saw it on the internet....Seriously?!?!

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

I believe it... :/

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Specializes in ER/SICU/Med-Surg/Ortho/Trauma/Flight.

Its got to be natural selection, just like the nuts on the motorcycles, these must be the ones our docs say they would like to get serum iq levels on!

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I have to admit: I did it... years ago. Its one of those things like not being able to lick your elbow or whistle after saltines, eat so many crackers in a certain amount of time. I guess you can't swallow a tsp of cinnamon. Its gross. I was surprised when it like blew up on the internet recently. I would have never have thought about resp risks as just a teen.

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