Health professionals are cautioning the public against the new social media challenge known as ‘dry scooping.’ The trend which is common on TikTok has sent some participants to the ER.
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TikTok videos and news reports show how dangerous this trend can be to the health and well being of people. For instance, a 20-year-old woman shared videos on her TikTok feed about how she had to spend days in the hospital after suffering a heart attack from dry scooping.
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Others have reported experiencing high blood pressure, brain swelling and difficulty in breathing after taking part in the challenge.
What is dry scooping?
The term refers to putting scoops of pre-workout powder—a type of supplement that blends performance enhancing compounds such as B-vitamins often with large doses of caffeine—or protein powder in your mouth without mixing it with water or other liquids.
People generally take these supplements or protein powders ahead of their gym sessions to get a boost in physical energy and to keep their mental focus sharp.
They take these products dry to enhance those effects even more, although this has not been proven to be true.
How dangerous is this?
A major ingredient of most pre-workout supplements is caffeine, which is more concentrated in powder form. Just a few scoops of these products could translate to approximately 50 cups of coffee.
There is a high risk of caffeine overdose (yes, that’s a thing!) from consuming these pre-workout supplements if not taken correctly.
Some symptoms of caffeine overdose include the most common one—heart palpitations—as well as vomiting, nausea, headache, fever, confusion and even seizures.
Health professionals also warn of the hazard of choking when trying to swallow large scoops of dry powder.
According to the professionals, even though many people can survive this by coughing and sputtering, others with underlying lung and respiratory conditions such as asthma, could suffer serious consequences
