Doctors Warn Over Dangerous Viral Milk Crate Challenge

Health experts have warned that people should not attempt the latest viral challenge, walking over a pyramid of precariously balanced milk crates.

Social media sites have been flooded in recent days by videos of people in the United States and beyond trying, and mostly failing.

Most videos end with what looks like a painful fall onto the collapsing crates, or the ground, as onlookers film on their phones in what some dubbed an event in the “Hood Olympics.”

“You’re at risk for, hitting your head and getting a head bleed,” said Dr. Chad Cannon, an emergency room doctor at the University of Kansas Health System.

If “you land on the milk crate, you will break your back and be paralyzed.”

While the hashtag was readily searchable on Twitter and Instagram on Wednesday, searches on TikTok returned no results

“This phrase may be associated with behavior or content that violates our guidelines. Promoting a safe and positive experience is TikTok’s top priority,” the search result page said.

The videos, and photographs of some appalling injuries, were reminiscent of an earlier internet sensation that had doctors tearing their hair out.

The 2018 Tide Pod Challenge saw young people biting into liquid laundry detergent packets. Some social media users pointed out the likelihood that not all of those appearing in these videos in the United States would get free medical treatment.