'Tide In, Dirt Out': Deadly Detergent Eating Flashmob Jumps to Dangerous Scale

The internet has exploded with the highly dangerous “Tide Pod challenge,” in which teens are supposed to stuff their mouth with detergent powder and even use it for cooking. A disturbing number of teenagers have been posting videos of themselves accepting the challenge and trying out the pods, which are extremely toxic and absolutely not meant to be consumed.

Back in 2015, the Onion published a joking article from the perspective of a child wondering what it would be like to eat the highly enticing red and blue-colored detergent, looking like candies.

Today, doctors have been urging teens not to eat the Tide pods, as the substance is poisonous and puts their health in peril if ingested. Among the symptoms shown by kids who have swallowed the detergents are wheezing, gasping, excessive vomiting, breathing issues, etc.

“They don’t always have the comprehension at 13, 14, or 15 years old of lifelong consequences,” said Dr. Karen Jenkins, medical director of the Piedmont Medical Center emergency department, NBC affiliated WCNC cited him as saying. “It’s toxic soap chemicals that these teenage children are putting into their mouths. These are people who are going out and actively going to look for them to ingest them. I cannot believe that people are doing this.”

Following the craze, Tide issued a statement: “Our laundry packs are a highly concentrated detergent meant to clean clothes … They should not be played with, whatever the circumstance is, even if meant as a joke.”