Another Teen Hospitalized for Eating 'Juicy' Tide Pods

In a case proving social media can ignite some pretty incredulous phenomena, yet another person [...]

By Libby Birk

In a case proving social media can ignite some pretty incredulous phenomena, yet another person has been hospitalized for ingesting a Tide Pod.

In a social media challenge that's typically popular with teens, a Utah State University student was reportedly rushed to a hospital Saturday after ingesting a Tide Pod.

Campus police initially called the incident a "Tide Pod overdose," but Eric Warren, director of media relations at USU, told FOX 13 Salt Lake City the female student ingested a Tide Pod.

The student was reportedly taken to a hospital, but her condition is unknown.

The incident comes after doctors and celebrities alike warned people earlier this month not to eat the small, brightly-colored pods due to health concerns. The warning was sparked by social media posts and online videos of people participating in the #TidePodChallenge that involves eating the pods and filming the reaction.

The challenge appeared to begin as a joke in an article in The Onion, a satirical news organization. In 2017, College Humor posted a satirical video of a man eating the pods because they looked inviting and delicious, USA Today reported.

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, poison control centers in 2016 and 2017 handled 39 and 53 cases of intentional exposures, respectively, among 13- to 19-year-olds.

In the first 15 days of 2018 alone, the AAPCC said poison centers have already handled 39 such intentional cases among the same age demographic.

"In just the past week, we've seen another 47 cases, for a total of 86 between January 1 and January 21, 2018. We cannot stress enough how dangerous this is to the health of individuals -- it can lead to seizure, pulmonary edema, respiratory arrest, coma, and even death," said Stephen Kaminski, JD, AAPCC's CEO and executive director in a statement.

"The 'laundry packet challenge' is neither funny nor without serious health implications," AAPCC's CEO and Executive Director Stephen Kaminski said in a statement. "The intentional misuse of these products poses a real threat to the health of individuals. We have seen a large spike in single-load laundry packet exposures among teenagers since these videos have been uploaded."

As the challenge picked up traction on social media, Tide's parent company Procter & Gamble quickly took action. On Jan. 12, they released a cautionary video starring New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski scolding viewers of even thinking of snacking on Tide Pods.

Proctor & Gamble has taken steps to make Tide Pods harder for young children to get into, and the reported number of accidental ingestion appears to have gone down, but that doesn't mean Proctor & Gamble and Tide can stop people from voluntarily ingesting the laundry pods.

Curious about what happens when one ingests a Tide Pod?

Buzzfeed interviewed Jana L. Anderson, pediatric emergency medicine physician from the Mayo Clinic, to break down everything that will happen.

Once you take an initial bite, you are likely immediately gag or vomit.

"The pods are in plastic wrapping, which puts them under some pressure, so when you chew on them they will explode in the mouth and coat the mucous membranes inside," Anderson said.Along with a nasty taste, the chemicals in the pod will cause a burning sensation in the mouth due the high alkaline pH levels in the detergent. Once swallowed, the detergent will continue to burn the inside of your body, starting in the esophagus and lining of your stomach.

"The chemicals can cause burns on the back of mouth and down the esophagus," Anderson said. "That's why the body typically immediately revolts and people vomit, because the stomach is burning."

As the detergent continues to pass through the body it will cause diarrhea and severe stomach pain.

"The one good thing is that it won't take that long for it to pass through your body, so you'll know within the first hour after ingesting it if something is going to happen," Anderson said.

"People can also cough and aspirate on their own vomit, which contains the detergent, so it can go into the lungs," Anderson said. A person would likely have to be rushed to the hospital and put on a ventilator if that happens.

So how much eaten detergent would it take to kill a person? According to Anderson it would take quite a few pods.

"Technically, yes, you can die if you inhaled or ingest a very large amount of laundry detergent and a small child could die from a single pod if they got enough of it in their lungs," Anderson said. "It causes an inflammatory cascade — so you get the irritation in the lungs, go into acute respiratory distress, and that leads to swelling and fluid pooling into the lungs which can be fatal."

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