'Tide Pod Challenge' potentially deadly for kids, teens

Some teens are following the latest social media trend that could be deadly.

It’s called the Tide Pod Challenge and teens are filming themselves putting the laundry detergent pods in their mouth.

Rachael Gomez is glad she hasn’t met anyone who has tried it yet.

“I’m thinking, why would you do that? Like, I get you want views on the internet but you might also die,” Gomez said.

Jay Schauben, director of the Florida Poison Control in Jacksonville, said in the past, the laundry pods have proven to be dangerous when children accidentally eat them, mistaking them for candy.

Experts say these pods are very concentrated and if you eat them, you could have a serious reaction.

“That has the potential to do a significant amount of irritation and corrosion to the mouth, the throat, the esophagus,” Schauben said.

If inhaled, the problems could get much worse.

“There’s what’s called a surfactant layer in the lungs that keeps the lungs open and functioning. If this product does get inhaled into the lungs, it’s going to cause a collapse of that layer and cause the lungs to collapse,” Schauben said.

We reached out to the company that makes Tide Pods. It sent the following statement: “Our laundry pacs are a highly concentrated detergent meant to clean clothes and they’re used safely in millions of households every day. They should be only used to clean clothes and kept up, closed and away from children. They should not be played with, whatever the circumstance is, even if meant as a joke. Safety is no laughing matter.”

Cox Media Group