Yesterday afternoon when my son got into the car, he was asking his sister if she ever put salt on ice. I didn’t realize that he was talking about putting the salt and ice combination on his skin. I just assumed that his science teacher was teaching them about temperature changes using salt and ice. Then this afternoon, I noticed a huge red spot on his arm so I asked him about the spot on his arm. After I carefully examined his arm, I noticed that it looked like a burn.
My son told me that he was participating in the salt and ice challenge. He was put a combination of salt/ice combination on his arm and foot. Ouch! Just the thought of doing this, makes me cringe.
He told me that him and his friends at school were having a contest to see who could keep the ice on their skin longest. What my son doesn’t know is that when ice and salt are mixed together it causes a chemical reaction. This chemical reaction drops the temperature of the ice and it can potentially cause serious burns or long term damage to the skin.
In fact, water typically freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. When you add a mixture of salt to ice, it causes the temperature to drop dramatically to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperaures that low can cause burns and frostbite.
I haven’t ever heard of this challenge until my son told me about it today but according to CBS News, this isn’t a new trick and children started doing it a few years ago. The kids are applying a small amount of water to their skin, just enough to wet the skin so that the salt will stick. Then they are adding a small layer of table salt to the wet skin. Next, they put the ice cube on their skin. When the salt and ice combine, it creates a chemical reaction. The kids are leaving the ice cube on their skin until it stings so much that they have no choice but to remove the ice. The longer they leave the ice in place, the more likely they will get blisters, second degree burns, or frostbite.
Here is a photo of my son’s arm:
This afternoon the spot on his arm looked red and I will continue to monitor it for possible blisters. I immediately let one on of the faculty members at the school know what was going on to prevent kids from continuing with this dangerous game. I also felt that this was something that I needed to share on my blog so that other parents could be aware of this dangerous contest or challenge.
Please talk to your children about this potential challenge so that they are aware of the dangerous consequences.
Have you ever heard of “The Salt and Ice Challenge”?
Comments
24 responses to “The Salt and Ice Challenge – Kids Are Using Table Salt and Ice to Cause Painful Burns to Their Skin”
My 14 yr old did the same thing last year, and then complained that it kind of hurt, and being the overly realistic parent that I am, said to him, “Well I bet you won’t do that again!” I think you can search up some of the stunts on YouTube by typing in challenge and searching, then going through the list. I am lucky because my two generally say something to me about wanting to try this stunt or that, to which they get from me a resounding…Don’t you dare!
Yeah I asked my son if he would do it again and he told me no. My daughter said the same thing.
I shared this on my profile and author page.
Never heard of this, before, but I am going to ask my daughter and about it and warn her about it. Kids get so silly and competitive and it’s scary to think of the things they can get themselves into. I really appreciate knowing about this, because I seriously wouldn’t have thought of it.
Thanks for sharing the info.
Rhonda thank you for passing this information on to your kids. I hope this post is enough to prevent them from trying this challenge.
Yikes!!!!! Christy, it is so disappointing and scary what youth taunt each other with~ I hope no blisters form on his arm. It’s a blessing you wrote this to help other parents be informed and you contacted the school. As always, your articles and work highlight how much you care about your family and helping others. I’m grateful for you. XO, Steph~
Thank you for sharing your kind words. I agree kids shouldn’t taunt and dare each other to do foolish things. Of course, we all know they will make mistakes and learn from them. I did explain to my kids that I shared their mistake to help spread awareness so that other kids didn’t get hurt.
Thanks for sharing this. I never heard about this til now. I hope your son heals soon- and never does it again. I will share this with my daughter.
Your welcome, I hope that your daughter skips on this challenge. 🙂
Thanks for sharing I will pass it along.
Marcie I really appreciate that you shared this on your blog.
Wow, this is scary. It’s good to know that it is going on so that we parents can keep a look out for it. Thanks for sharing!
Your welcome. 🙂
Oh my goodness…the things kids come up with these days. Never realizing the potential dangers involved. Thanks for the share and for keeping others informed. This is definitely one of those “Don’t try this at home” type of things
I agree, I still am shocked that my kids would even try this. They learned the hard way for sure and won’t be doing this again.
I shared this article on Google to make parents aware of the danger.
Thank you so much for sharing.
I would love to share this on my weebly blog.
I’ve heard of kids doing this. I just don’t understand why they want to hurt themselves for a game? It’s scary, the things kids are into these days! Thank you for sharing this!
Nikki I agree with you. I don’t get it that kids think it is a game to harm themselves. I am glad that my kids learned their lesson.
I just heard about this the other day. I’m still pondering why, with all that’s available to our kids today, why anyone would want to do this? I know someone who tried the ridiculous cinnamon challenge and choked. It makes no sense! Get outside on your skateboard and away from YouTube. My kids aren’t thrilled, though my older ones tell me now that they get it, but I’m all in their business online. It’s not perfect but with silly things like this out there, you have to be. Thanks for the post! More people need to be aware, I know I was out of the loop.
I agree Dee, kids do some very silly things. I heard about the cinnamon challenge about a year and a half ago and thankfully my kids didn’t try this one. I remember tasting a small bit of cinnamon on my finger as a child and that stuff is super bitter. It’s gross unless its mixed with sugar.
Kids should be banned from YouTube for this reason alone. I understand that Youtube has a purpose and I understand that but for kids to go searching for dumb things to do to themselves is beyond crazy.
This is my first time I also heard about this challenge. It seems fun for the kids since they don’t know the possible danger. Thanks for sharing this, I hope the school will ask first the parents before putting the kids into such risky experiment.
I’ve never heard of such a thing!! Makes me glad we don’t have an ice maker!! I will definitely keep an eye out for signs of this in my kids. Thanks for sharing it!
I was 10 when i did it and not quite shure what would happen because my freinds all did it so i did not want to be a chicken so i did it and got frostbite