Teenagers warned over dangerous 'condom snorting challenge'

Teenagers have been warned against taking part in a dangerous "condom snorting challenge" that could cause them to choke.

In a series of videos posted across the Internet, teenagers are inhaling unwrapped condoms through their nostrils and pulling it out of their throats.

Health experts have warned that the trend could pose a serious risk to health and advised teenagers to "find better ways to spend their time".

Kalpesh Patel, an ENT consultant and Rhinoplasty surgeon said that there is the potential for the individual to accidentally inhale the condom.

“If it goes into your voice box it could potentially cause a choking episode,” he said.

Mr Patel also warned that if the condom broke while travelling through the nose it could potentially cause problems.

He said: “ Although condoms are designed to be fairly robust, if a person has a nose ring it could theoretically tear the condom and cause pieces of it to get stuck in the nose.

“Generally we would tend not to advise people to put stuff up their nose as they can inhale it and this can be problematic,” he continued.

In 2004 doctors in India reported that a 27 year old woman developed pneumonia and a collapsed lung after she accidentally inhaled a condom.

Mr Patel described the activity as “foolish” and advised teenagers to “find better ways to spend their time.”

Although the challenge has been around for several years, the trend has re-emerged following the tide pod challenge which made headlines last year.

The dangerous viral trend saw teenagers post videos of themselves chewing and swallowing laundry detergent pods.

Health officials reported a number of people who took part in the challenge were sick due to the concentrated detergent causing chemical burns when ingested.