WTF, Condom Challenge: Teens Started Snorting Condoms and Doctors Got Mad
Remember the Condom Challenge? That was this year.
Whenever teens hop on some new fad, parents flip out. Without fail. That’s what happened when teens started the Condom Challenge — snorting condoms up the nostril and out the throat for viral fame — earlier this year. We at Inverse prefer not to play the role of parent or cop, but this trend was one that begged for a healthy Well, actually. So, we asked a doctor to tell us why it was so terrible.
“Condom snorting is definitely not a good idea,” Dr. Jennifer Villwock, a University of Kansas Medical Center assistant professor of otolaryngology, told Inverse in April, when the trend peaked. “Do not recommend!”
This is #14 on Inverse’s list of the 25 Most WTF stories of 2018.
Villwock wasn’t just being prudish. As she previously told Inverse, there are a few major issues that can arise when you snort a condom up your nose and pull it out your throat.
There's lots that can go wrong here; worst case scenario is that the condom gets in your lungs.
The worst-case scenario for condom snorting would be a condom getting stuck in your lungs — Grey’s Anatomy fans will remember Gretchen from Season 7. In the event that a condom gets fully inhaled, Villwock said, a patient would probably need a bronchoscopy, a decidedly uncomfortable procedure.
“This could cause blockage of the trachea (the main breathing pipe) or further down and prevent air from getting into the lungs,” she says. “If air is completely blocked from both lungs, this could be deadly.”
Even without inhaling a condom, a Condom Challenge competitor can still hurt themselves.
Gagging on a snorted condom could easily trigger a vomiting spell, and it’s possible that this would result in inhaling vomit into the lungs. Since gagging is meant to help the body expel foreign objects — like condoms in the throat — it’s natural that this could happen, potentially resulting in pneumonia.
Even if neither of these messed up situations transpire, you can still damage your nasal passages by snorting a condom.
“The lining is delicate, and the condom could cause damage as it moves through the nasal passages,” Villwock said.
Even after reading this, you may still be inspired to snort a condom. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
As 2018 draws to a close, Inverse is counting down the 25 stories that made us go WTF. Some are gross, some are amazing, and some are just, well, WTF. In our ranking from least to most WTF, this has been #14. Read the original article here.
Watch the full 25 WTF countdown in the video below.
