Doctors warn against eating Tide Pods in latest social media challenge

(FOX News) -- The latest social media fad could be fatal, doctors warn. The "Tide Pod Challenge" has taken social media by storm, but the craze could be extremely harmful to humans.

Teenagers have been posting videos of themselves chewing and gagging on the small, colorful detergent pods and daring others to follow suit. Some social media users have posted videos of themselves cooking the pods before eating them, WSB-TV reported.

However, the pods, which contain ethanol, polymers and hydrogen peroxide are extremely toxic and can make people very sick if consumed, CBS News reported.

Marc Pagan, 19, told CBS News he consumed a pod on a dare but knew the detergent was not meant to be eaten.

"A lot of people were just saying how stupid I was or how - why would I be willing to do that," he said. "No one should be putting anything like that in their mouths, you know?"

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.

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