On the internet, particularly on social media networks, a "challenge" is a term used to refer to videos in which users record themselves performing an action and then dare others to do the same.
Internet challenges have since become part of the internet culture due to their popularity, many of which spread through memes.
Those who attempt, or dare to try to do the challenge, can often become part of the internet sensation, and gain fame. This is why internet challenges are popular among youngsters who are avid social media users.
Among the many challenges the internet has provided, most are meant for fun. However, some can be dangerous.
The Kiki Challenge for example, was one of them.
And this time, a challenge called 'dry scooping' has caused its first life-threatening incident.
A 20-year-old woman said that attempting to do the 'dry scooping” challenge resulted in her suffering a heart attack.
Briatney Portillo, a social media user that is active on TikTok, Instagram and OnlyFans, shared two clips in which she warned against others who might be considering giving the challenge a try.
Dry scooping involves participants in eating protein powder supplement by putting it into one’s mouth instead of diluting it with water first.
The aim, is to achieve a more productive exercise.
This is because this kind of supplement is typically made of amino acids, B vitamins, caffeine, creatine and artificial sweeteners. And people thought that ingesting it dry can intensify the effect.
“Putting this out there so y’all don’t do what I did because I’m the type of person to try anything and everything I see here w/o questioning it,” Portillo said when sharing one clip.
When Portillo decided to try it out before a workout, she said that she started to feel some strange symptoms while exercising.
"After I took the pre-workout, I started to feel tingly and itchy all over my body, which wasn't a good feeling, but I Googled it and it said that was a normal side effect," she said.
But as she continued working out, she then "started to feel a heavy feeling in my chest and slight pain". Trying to not care about the symptoms, she continued exercising, until she once again felt pain.
At first, she thought that she may be suffering anxiety or even a "bad panic attack".
It was only later in the day when she was getting ready for work, that Portillo began to feel hot and started to sweat endlessly, despite she was in a changing room with air conditioning.
"I started sweating a lot and was drenched even though I was wearing a bikini," she explained.
"Then my chest pain came back and this time it was more intense. The pain went to my back and to my left arm and my left arm went slightly limp, so I knew those were symptoms of a heart attack."
Panicked, she called an ambulance to rush her to the hospital.
“The pain went to my back and to my left arm, and my left arm went slightly limp, so I knew those were symptoms of a heart attack. I called 9-1-1, and the ambulance came.”
It was at the hospital that a series of tests confirmed that she had the cardiac episode, called the NSTEMI, which is a type of heart attack that’s less damaging to the heart.
Following this, she started sharing her story on TikTok, to warn others about taking such challenges.
“Being 20, I would’ve never assumed I’d get a heart attack from pre-workout,” she said. “I just want people to be careful with what they’re consuming. Just because you see it online, even if it’s ‘fitness influencers’ doing it, doesn’t mean it’s safe. Being young doesn’t mean we’re invincible.”
Responding to her story, many agreed with her.
They also speculate that it was her intake of protein powder that caused it.
This is inline with what experts have long said, in which they say anything containing too much caffeine can be dangerous to people with heart conditions, whether they realize they have them or not.
Additionally, pre-workout powder and other supplements that are high on caffeine, are not closely regulated, meaning that people may inadvertently consume the substances in a quantity that is too much for their body.
“This is why we don’t listen to influencers,” one TikTok user commented on Portillo's post.
However, others accused her for fabricating the heart attack story, just to gain internet sensation and others' attention.
Internet challenges are already a phenomenon, and their popularity is explained by people's, especially teenagers', who need to gain attention and be liked.