The #CondomChallenge Could Cause Suffocation And Poses A 'Significant Risk Of Injury', Doctors Warn

Doctors Are Warning The #CondomChallenge Could Cause Suffocation

By now you've probably become acquainted with the latest viral trend, the #CondomChallenge, but doctors are warning the craze has the potential to be dangerous.

The challenge, which is particularly popular among teenagers, involves filling a condom with water, then dropping it over another person's head.

According to Medical Daily, the #CondomChallenge was started by Twitter users to "help raise safe sex awareness, because, they reason, if it can fit around the head on a guy’s shoulder then it can most certainly fit around the one below their waist".

But not everyone agrees the craze is such a positive thing.

Dr Helen Webberley, the dedicated GP for Oxford Online Pharmacy, warns that placing a filled condom on your head could impact your ability to breathe.

"While I am a big fan of anything that promotes safe sex and, crucially, gets our youngsters talking about safe sex, the act of putting a very strong rubber bag on someone's head makes me very concerned due to the potential risks of suffocation," she tells HuffPost UK Lifestyle.

"Please be careful here, I would hate for an innocent game to end in tragedy."

Dr Nitin Shori, NHS GP and medical director of Pharmacy2U Online Doctor says it's vital that we find ways to promote safe sex, but the #CondomChallenge is not the way to do it.

"The Ice Bucket Challenge was a generally fun and popular trend across social media which increased general awareness of ALS and helped to raise money for the cause," he tells us.

"Unfortunately this particular trend involving condoms carries a significant risk of injury and suffocation if done incorrectly."

It seems the doctors' concerns are not unwarranted - not all #CondomChallenge videos have gone without a hitch.

The two doctors' comments come after many people have aired concerns about the safety of the challenge on social media.

The latest craze follows an equally bizarre condom challenge from 2013 where teenagers videoed each other snorting the contraceptive up their noses.

Close