The TikTok challenge, thumb-blowing pass out, has become a topic of discussion among parents of teenagers after an Australian boy,13, ended up in hospital while attempting it. His mother issued an urgent warning to other parents about the dangers involved in this risky stunt, which is popular among thousands of teenagers.
The TikTok challenge, which has been around for almost a decade, nearly ended in tragedy for the Sydney boy. His mother described the risky stunt as "quite scary" and "quite serious". She requested other parents to make their children aware of its dangers because many kids across the globe lost their lives while performing this stunt.
Thousands of children from various parts of the world are taking part in this bizarre online craze. The Sydney boy was one among them who wanted to upload a video of him performing this dangerous stunt. But the teen boy ended up in hospital after hitting his head on a table while attempting this daring challenge.
I ran up the stairs and as I got up the top of the stairs I could hear him groaning. His bedroom window is only a meter and a half away from his bed. If he had fallen through there... I wouldn't want to think about what would have happened, the Australian mother told Seven News.
What is Thumb Blowing Pass Out TikTok Challenge?
The dangerous stunt involves children putting their thumbs in the mouth and blowing through their fingers while squeezing their chests. The kids have to repeatedly blow through their fingers until they hyperventilate and experience a euphoric high.
Thousands of children have performed this risky stunt and uploaded their videos on TikTok. After the Sydney boy got injured while performing this stunt, his mother looked into it. She found out that many children lost their while taking up this challenge. She requested other parents to let their children know about the dangers involved in this stunt.
"I've since discovered how dangerous this stunt is and children around the world lost lives. It's quite scary and quite serious. I've since had a massive amount of anxiety over this video and others that are circulating on TikTok", the Australian mother said.
Other Victims
The Sydney teen is not the first victim of this dangerous TikTok challenge. Many children suffered injuries and seizures from falling while performing this stunt. Sam Thomas from the UK was sent to the hospital after performing this stunt at school in 2013. His parents found him shutting down, and he was rushed to the hospital. The doctors feared the kid would suffer from severe brain damage. He was placed in a medically induced coma for nearly three days after he collapsed and blacked out while attempting the act.
"I picked him up and he had no blue in his eyes, they were all black. There was nothing I could do to help him. He didn't know who I was, he couldn't talk, couldn't walk. We were in disbelief that this could be so dangerous. It's caused death before and many more children have suffered brain damage. Children at that age don't understand things like this, his parents", Robert and Celia told mail online.
An Australian boy, 13, lost his life while enacting a choking game in 2016. Another Australian boy, 10, nearly lost his life while attempting a similar YouTube challenge, how to pass out safely, in 2017. He was found in a pool of blood by his mother. His head hit the tallboy of his bedroom. He had five double stitches and a five-hour stint due to the deep wound.
"It is just so dangerous because it sounds so innocuous to a kid, breathing out and crouching down, it doesn't sound like it could hurt you. But it can, you can lose oxygen to your brain, and end up brain-damaged. You could fall and hit your head, you really could end up losing everything", the mother said.
