Parents Beware: The “Deodorant Challenge” Is Leaving Kids Covered in Burns

by Breck Faught

The dangerous new craze is starting to take over social media.

A worried mom has warned other parents about a dangerous new craze that is leaving children’s skin covered in burns.

Known as the “Deodorant Challenge,” kids are reportedly filming themselves holding deodorant bottles a few inches above their skin before pressing and holding the aerosol for as long as possible.

During an interview with This Morning, 12-year-old Kaitlyn Stanley shared how she had burned her own arm using an aerosol deodorant because “it looks really cool.”

“My friend started doing it,” Kaitlyn told presenter Rylan Clarke-Neil. “You spray it and it goes white and it looks really cool, so I tried it.”

When asked if she realized the damage she was doing to her skin, Kaitlyn replied “no” and said she “didn’t know” how she felt about the way her arm looks now.

Doctor and TV presenter Dr. Ranj explained the consequences of spraying aerosols on the skin and stressed that the craze can cause “serious damage.”

“The deodorant cools the skin down really, really rapidly so you essentially get frost bite,” he said. “That breaks the skin down so not only does that hurt, but it also breaks the skin barrier down, so it can predispose you to infection and can damage the pigment in the skin.”

Dr Raj added: “If you have damage to the pigment, you have to protect it because that increase your chances of skin cancer later.”

Prior to the television appearance, the girl’s mom made other parents aware of the craze by sharing an image of her daughter’s burns on Facebook.

“Apparently the new craze up Bodmin College is the ‘deodorant challenge,'” Sara wrote.

A further comment said: “Please, please be aware. There’s a new craze going around … Where they spray deodorants etc onto their bodies and continue until it burns their skin.

“Please warn your children not to do it as it will cause so much pain and more than likely end up in hospital. Please share to warn others.”

The “Deodorant Challenge” follows the “Salt and Ice Challenge,” which emerged earlier this year and left multiple children with serious burns. Similarly, it is also growing quickly on social media.

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